Honor, Courage And Rectitude
by TraipsingExodus
Summary: Beaten Castelia groans under the weight of corpses, as the fallen crime families that grew fat on her shoulders pile up. Daniel Winters and his bisharp, Charles, arrive to answer an old friend's request, and cut the last head from a hydra in its death throes: a man who went chasing game more dangerous than man. [Sequel to Au Coup Par Coup.]
1. Cheap Whiskey

This was the time she got drunk. Like clockwork - not quite alcoholism, Evelynn reasoned, so much as _escapism._ With a sleepy grin, she sagged in her chair and tilted the end of the bottle into her mouth, a quarter of it spilling out along the sides of her muzzle and onto the bar. She forced herself to sit upright and poured the contents of the entire bottle down her throat. It was foul, cheap whiskey. Her favorite.

A weavile lounging in a beanbag chair nearby scoffed. " **Why do you drink that shit?"** needled Chastity.

Evelynn let out a long, hot sigh and pulled wayward strands of hair away from her face. " **Burns like wanderlust, Chast. 'N it goes down easy enough. Just like nostalgia,** " she replied. She glanced at the bottle and with a dismissive _tch_ , tossed it into a nearby pile behind the bar. " **And I'm out of it before I really start. Typical.** " She swung a leg over the other and crossed her arms, pouting. " **Say, Chast-** "

The weavile took a long drag from the strange device next to her and blew a plume of brilliant green smoke in the direction of the zoroark. " **Fuck no.** "

Evelynn shifted into a weavile herself, the spitting image of Chastity and replied in a mocking tone, " **Fuck no. I'm Chastity. I hoard booze and the weird shit I smoke and never ever share-** "

" **Ladies, please. Now's not the time fer cat-fights.** " The scrafty grinned in spite of himself and sat down next at the meager bar beside Evelynn. " **You alrigh'? Yer lookin' more down each day, Eve.** "

" **It's nothing, Oliver. Nothing you don't already know about,** " she replied. She shifted back into a zoroark and slumped against the bar.

" **Well if that old fire's burnin' again and got yeh wantin' to leave, can't say I'd stop yeh. I like yeh, Eve, but...well, hell, you already know. Never been one for tyin' folks down,** " supplied Oliver.

" **You're not tying her down, Oliver, trust me,** " sneered Chastity. She sat up in her beanbag chair and swept her arms across the room. She gestured at the tiny bar with precious few bottles stocking the shelves, the dingy tables obscured by a haze of green smoke, and the mounds of litter tucked here and there into rough piles. " **We've all got more time than work. Business ain't booming and our shithole-in-the-ground is suffering for it. And so's she. Guess dark and dingy doesn't mash to well with this fairy over here.** "

Evelynn growled and stood up. " **I'm glad we haven't had any fucking work, Chast. I'm sick of it. Have you seen my last "haul"?** " She gestured to the cloth bag sitting beside the strange smoking apparatus adorning the table beside the weavile.

" **Yeah, I saw your last "haul", as you called it. Enough to get us by for quite some time. Months, at least. A year if we're stingy,** " she replied. She rummaged in the bag and pulled out a glittering golden watch and wrinkled her nose. " **Bit of blood on the face. You do something to the previous owner?** "

Evelynn ruffled her mane of hair and let out a howl of frustration. " **No, you dense bitch, I didn't fucking hurt anyone. I found a twitching pile of dead gangsters out near where I usually pick up a score. No one had looted them because they'd all shot and stabbed each other.** "

Chastity frowned and tossed the watch back into the bag. " **Guess you'd better arrange a trip out to a nearby town and-** "

The zoroark scoffed. " **Oh, fuck this. It doesn't bother you in the slightest that I pulled it off a bunch of dead gangsters? At all?** "

The weavile took another drag and then blew out a long, thin stream of smoke before finally saying, " **Fuck 'em. Their loss, our g-** "

" **Castelia is burning down all a-fucking-round us, Chastity. And you're content to- forget it. I'm cracking the good shit tonight."** At this, Evelynn set off into the corner of their dingy basement-turned apartment. It was owned by a curious woman who didn't talk much, but always seemed to have enough to pay rent. It was enough to keep the proprietors of the complex from asking questions about the random pokemon that would appear at her door, and for that, Evelynn was grateful. She disliked using human speech, good as she was at it.

She rummaged beneath the couch that doubled as her bed in the corner of the room and rummaged beneath it for her bottle of "the good shit." _There it is. Dusty, but still good._ She popped the cap off and took a swig. After months of cheap whiskey, it was better. _Far_ better. Several swigs later, the room had taken on a spin, and rocked unevenly back and forth, the dim lights now bright blurs that left spots in her eyes. Her sleepy grin did not return, however, and instead her thoughts turned to that hated place of hers, _what-if._

 _What if I'd just left? Struck out. Braved the world. Kinda like how he did. Maybe he didn't have a choice._

 _What if I just left now? Bit drunk, might end up in a_ compromising _situation, but I'm no stranger to that._

 _What if...what if anything? Anything good, yeah? Anything that wasn't this. Kind Oliver and bitchy Chastity. Absent, thieving, conniving, gentlemanly Roderick. And quiet Yosef. Where were those two anyway? Off on a score of their own? No one's swung by to ask us for work, I've had to go out- oh. Someone's here. Feh. Chastity'll take care of it._

Evelynn regarded the shadowed figure that had entered the room with mild disinterest and instead poured a drink than swig directly from the bottle, in an effort to look more "presentable". _Another pokemon here to lick our boots?_ She sighed and her thoughts turned to back to _him_. _Where are you? What are you up to? Are...you even alive?_ She took a swig from her glass and winced as the alcohol burned its way down her throat. _Thought you had the wrong idea but now-_

The smoke around the figure cleared and produced the form of a bisharp. His intense eyes and ramrod gait hadn't changed a bit - but there behind his eyes, Eve saw it. _Grief._

Her mouth fell open, and for a moment the misdirection around her snout failed - she rushed to mask it by (only partially) feigning surprise and bringing her hands up to cover it. She stood, knocking her table aside and the expensive liquor upon it to the ground with a crash. The room began to spin very rapidly, and she became painfully aware of just how much whiskey she'd downed. She swayed on the spot and mumbled, awestruck, " **Charles?** "

The bisharp looked at her - his eyes softened and the ghost of a smile appeared on the corner of his lips. He nodded.

She stumbled her way over to him, stopping now and again to catch herself against the various chairs, makeshift beds and furnishing that peppered the basement, and at last collapsed against Charles' shoulder with a grunt. She composed herself immediately after, and stood up straight, trying with all her might to avoid swaying. " **So. You're back. Life in the light not pan out for you?** " she asked in what she hoped was a casual tone.

Charles snorted. " **Drunk? Odd. Didn't take you for one. Recent?** " He caught Oliver's eye and gave him a swift smirk and a nod. Eve noticed that, despite standing next to Chastity, Charles had chosen to ignore her.

Clearly, Chastity had noticed as well, because the weavile cleared her throat loudly and interjected, " **Yeah, it's recent. Every night it's the same thing. Now, you gonna tell me what you're doing here? Clearly it's not to chat, way you flat out ignored-** "

" **Stick your pipe in it, Chast,** " interrupted Evelynn, putting a hand to one hip and pointing accusingly at the weavile with the other. " **We get you're all bent out of shape because he didn't say hi, but you didn't go out on friendly terms last he was here, so what'd you expect? It's** _ **Charles**_ **.** "

" **Who's to say I'm not ready to forgive and forget?** " replied Chastity, looking taken aback.

" **Did ol' Arc himself come to you in a dream or somethin'? Tell you it's time fer a new start as a more friendly, less bitchy and cutthroat weavile?** " asked Oliver, a smile dancing across his lips and a chuckle in his throat.

" **Not a bad idea. Knew a weavile,** " added Charles, glancing over at Chastity. He flicked up to the plumage on her head and he shook his head. " **Evil.** " He turned back to Evelynn and gave her a smirk. " **Here to check in. And ask a favor.** "

" **A favor? You waltz in, don't show me the proper respect and then tell me to fix** _ **my**_ **attitude? Piss off,** " hissed Chastity. She stood and stomped over to a large pile of cushions that acted as her bed and threw herself into them. " **Show him the fuck out, Oliver. Now.** "

The scrafty rolled his eyes and hopped off his stool. " **She's in one of her moods. Lemme show ya out, Charlie. Best come back later if yer wantin' help.** " He strode up the stairs that led them out of the basement and into the alleyway access door. " **Mmm, she always gets like this whenever someone tells her to stick it. Good on ya, Charlie. Good on ya. Forgets herself sometimes.** "

Charles nodded and asked, " **Need help soon. Not later. Not interested?** "

Oliver shook his head. " **Aw hell, Charlie, I can't go and leave Chastity behind like that. Goes to pieces alone.** "

Evelynn squashed a chuckle against her hand and mumbled, " **You know, humans call that 'pussy-whipped.'** "

The scrafty rolled his eyes, but smiled nevertheless. " **Good to see I'm not the only one willin' to make cat puns,** " he replied, " **but it might as well be true, Charlie. No help I can go offerin' right now. Sorry bud.** "

Charles nodded again and gave Evelynn a swift smile and a nod. " **Understood. Have to find other means. Pleasure seeing you both again.** " He gave them both a quick wave and then turned about to leave.

Oliver sighed. " **Pity, eh, Eve?** " A loud shout echoed in the alley from out of the basement. " **And there she goes, yappin' orders at me. Comin', Eve? Or you gonna air out?** "

Evelynn turned back to look at Charles. " **Air out,** " she replied. She heard Oliver trudge down the steps and stumbled after Charles immediately after. " **Charles!** "

The bisharp turned about and his eyes widened as he saw Evelynn approach. Again, she stumbled her way to him and silently cursed how much whiskey she'd soaked herself in as she nearly tripped into him. " **You need help, right?** " she asked, no longer attempting to control her swaying.

Charles frowned. " **Yes. So do you. Drunk. Not a time to make decisions,** " he said, his tone blunt. He crossed his arms and tilted his head. " **Get some rest. Need it.** "

Evelynn cross her arms and bared her teeth in a low growl. "' **M not always a drunken mess, you know.** " She sighed and shook her head, then added, " **I'm in a bad way, but I'm not that drunk. This whole 'drunken zoroark' thing is a recent change.** "

The bisharp cocked his head. " **Explain.** "

" **Never were one for words, huh?** " she asked, a smile curling on the edge of her lips. " **Charles, I want to get out of this life. Chast doesn't care, Oliver's basically her handler, and Yosef and Roderick are just content to follow her. Room and board for being hired assholes is a good job for a bunch of ferals.** " She rolled her eyes at the term. It bothered her, necessary as it was. " **But if work dries up in the wake of all this gang fighting then we are going to find ourselves out of food and on the streets and we've gotten a bit...soft. At least as far as street life is concerned. I dunno if-** "

Charles took a step forward and grabbed hold of her muzzle to clamp it shut. He tilted her head down and stared her in the eyes with piercing, beady black gaze of his own. " **Rambling. Eve doesn't ramble. Truth. Now.** "

Evelynn's ears drooped and she averted her eyes. She reached up and gently removed his arm from her snout and mumbled, " **I'm tired of life in the shadows, Charles.** " She raised her gaze up to look him in the face. " **When you left I thought… I thought you were crazy. It wasn't really your decision I guess, it was your trainer's but, even then, you were so willing to just skip out and-"** She quailed under his stern gaze and shook her head to try to clear it.

" **I want to be good, Charles. I want to do the right thing.** " She ran a hand through her long mane of hair, and then reached down towards the curious gold ring she'd threaded the end of her hair through into her hands and looked down at it. " **For once. I'm tired of my old life.** " She stared him in the eyes. " **Please let me help.** "

Charles stared back for a moment then turned around. " **Follow.** "

* * *

Daniel flicked his cigarette down toward the other end of the alley and rolled his neck. The soft _crick crack_ of relief sounded in his ears and he sighed. "Taking way fucking longer than he needs to," he grumbled. He turned around and banged on the sturdy metal door behind him thrice. "Locke. Locke, you secretive fuck, hurry your ass up, I haven't got all day."

The peep-slat in the door slid aside and revealed the bloodshot green eyes of Locke. "I was just finishing up, you impatient prick. Come in, come in," he rasped. The sound of several locks clicking open rang out, then a pause, then the loud metallic _thunk_ of what Daniel imagined was some kind of intense magnetic lock rose in the air. The door swung open and admitted the detective into the dingy, poorly lit room.

The squat frame of Locke waddled his way over to behind a counter and he heaved himself into a seat with a series of groans. With an almost disinterested swat of his hand, he slapped a large red button attached to a controller that dangled down from the ceiling, and the metal grating behind him rolled aside and revealed a wall brimming with weapons. Locke pulled a cigarette from the ashtray upon the counter up to his lips and inhaled, a weak red cherry springing to life in the poor light as he did so, and coughed out, "What did you fuckin' want?"

Daniel grinned. "I came by to say hi, Locke. Can't an old friend just swing by and have a chat?" he asked innocently.

Locke waved the smoke from his face and coughed, then chuckled and coughed again. "Your smooth talking ekans-in-the-grass lies won't get you a fuckin' discount, Winters." He studied the man for a moment and pulled on a pair of grimy half-moon spectacles. "Bah, but I guess I'll give you a discount for coming back to me after so much time away. Coulda gone to Geoff's, you know."

The detective pulled up a stool and sat himself at the counter. "Geoff's dead."

The squat man took a long drag from his cigarette and then flicked its tail of ash into the tray and exhaled out of the corner of his mouth. "You called him first?"

"No. I called you first. You didn't answer. Geoff didn't either. Got his son instead. Kid didn't sound old enough to take up his father's, uh, _profession_ , so I gave him my condolences and fucked off right over to here. Glad to see you haven't kicked the bucket yet."

"Cancer sticks'll do me in before any of the fuckin' gangs of this godsforsaken city do. Business is booming and I get a front row seat to watching the fuckin' world come to an end."

Daniel pointed at the wall behind Locke and said, "That one. Folding stock. Short, threaded barrel. A rail to slap an optic on. Looks like all I'll need."

Locke looked taken aback and turned in his stool to glance at the rifle. "Yeah, that's fine. Extra mags?"

"Six. And a carrier. Two cases of ammo."

"Hold on, hotshot, you haven't told me what you're chambering the rifle-"

"Inter-region compact standard. That's the first case of ammo. Second case is for this." He pulled his pistol out from under his jacket and laid it on the table. "Forty cal."

"Mmm. Alright. Rifle. Two cases. Carrier. Plate or-"

"Plate. Dual purpose. Took a nasty stab in the back while I was in Kalos."

"Dual purpose rig? Those don't come cheap, Winters, you sure-"

"I've got the fuckin' scratch for it. Rifle. Two cases. DP Carrier. Six mags. Send it here," he explained, and slid a piece of paper across the counter towards Locke. "Charge this." He pulled a credit chit from his pocket and laid it flat on the table.

Locke rang up the transaction and lowered his spectacles to peer at the screen as it processed. "You weren't fuckin' kiddin' Winters. These chits don't come cheap and the kinda paper you've got on this…where'd you come up on-"

"I don't want to talk about it. Nothing illegal, I can assure you," replied Daniel shortly. "Honestly, the way I got it, wish it had been."

Locke said nothing, and instead dug around in a box behind the counter and pulled a vest up and laid it on the counter before Daniel. "Dual purpose lining. Adds bulk, but you get a nice compromise: bullets and angry pokemon. And you can throw some extra plates here and there for additional protection of your choosing." He watched Daniel put the vest and and tweak and adjust here and there. "Good?"

"What I need. Mag pouches. Rifle and handgun. Toss those in with this," said Daniel. He pulled the vest off and laid it on the counter again.

The arms dealer set the carrier aside and picked the credit chit up, examining it with sharp eyes before laying it flat on the counter. "Winters. What are you doing here?" asked Locke, sliding the chit back across the table along with a small coded print out.

"I don't know yet. I find out tomorrow," he replied. He rose from his stool and picked up the chit and print out, then holstered his pistol.

Locke's eyes widened. "Then why the rifle? The body armor? The ammo? Winters, _what the hell are you doing?_ "

Daniel threw the door open, filling the stuffy room with blazing sunlight. "Checking in on old friends." He slammed the door shut behind him, leaving Locke in the dying light of his shop.

* * *

Daniel unlocked the door into his hotel room and was surprised to find Charles sitting cross legged on the floor in the center of the room, his head bowed in meditation. The detective cleared his throat pointedly. "Staring down a long barrel there, are ya, Charles?"

The bisharp opened his eyes and looked up at his friend. He nodded twice and then stood. He raised a gauntleted hand and pointed at Daniel's bedroom door.

Daniel entered his hotel bedroom and looking at the sleeping figure obscured by blankets. He crept closer and saw the telltale red mane of hair and dark fur of a zoroark. "How the fuck do you tell them apart anyway? Chick or a dude?" Charles grunted once to signal the former.

"Charles, we're here to get some dirty shit done, not get you laid," noted Daniel, staring down at the sleeping zoroark in his bed. "Admittedly, still dirty shit I guess but - gods, she stinks. What the fuck is that? Whiskey?"

The bisharp nodded once. He pointed to the zoroark, then to himself, then do Daniel and then finally rapped his knuckles against the palm of his hand three times in quick succession before pointing out the door.

"What?" asked Daniel, his brow furrowed. "We taking her somewhere or…" Charles shook his head and tapped his trainer's pocket insistently. He mimicked opening a booklet and leafing through it. "Oh," said Daniel, pulling the book he kept Tanaka's picture and the instructions he needed to meet with him. "What does Hideo have to do with- you motherfucker. She's coming with us, isn't she?"

Charles nodded.

"No wonder you wanted to head off on your own for a bit. You _never_ ask to do that unless you're brewing some kinda plan in that knife-tipped head of yours." Daniel groaned and sat himself in the chair. "Well, wake her the fuck up so I can-" A knock rang out from the other room. "Fuck, Locke works quickly. Get her up and bring her out." He rose and strode out of his bedroom to the living room and kitchenette of his suite and then made his way to the door that led out to the hallway of the hotel. He peered through the peephole and saw a man wearing a backpack and clutching two black cases - one long and thin, the other squat and fat.

Daniel pulled his pistol from his underarm holster and tucked it and his right hand behind his back, then opened the door. He opened his mouth to greet the man but was cut off.

"Slip," said the man.

Daniel closed his mouth and handed him the coded slip of paper Locke had given him back at his shop. The man pulled a strange scanning device from his pocket, clicked a button on it and ran a thin red light across the paper. A loud beep issued form it. Daniel opened his mouth again. He was cut off again.

"Locke's Hardware Supply. Heard youse needed nails and a hammer," said the man, his tone gruff and deep. He handed Daniel the thin case. "Hammer." He then handed him the fatter case. "Nails. Two kinds. Got yer long nails, yer short nails, nails for every occasion, ya know? Also, 'fore I forget, you'll need yourself your tool belt and the extra loops and pockets that comes with it." He pulled the backpack off and dumped it at his feet. "Keep that backpack, I got tons. Free gift, you know? Alright, I'm outta here." At that, the man turned and left.

Daniel closed the door behind him and bolted it shut, then holstered his pistol. He hauled the cases up onto the counter in the kitchenette and opened the long and thin one first to reveal his rifle, a cleaning kit, CQB optics and a spare magazine; the rest were likely sitting in the bag. He pulled the rifle free and shouldered it. It was comfortable enough, though he realized it would be decidedly awkward to fire with the stock folded. He replaced the rifle and opened the thicker case to reveal two metal cases of ammunition.

"Having fun, Daniel?" asked an accented voice across the room. Daniel pulled his pistol free and aimed it directly at the source of the sound.

An attractive woman with curiously red hair that ran from her in messy waves and bright purple eyes stared back at him. Her fair skin was spotted lightly with freckles and her mouth was curved into a knowing smile. She was buxom. _Extremely_ buxom.

Daniel's gaze hardened. "Fucking zoroarks," he grumbled. "I'm checking my gear. Name." It was a command.

The woman's smile broadened. "That's not how this works," she said, her tone flirtatious. She stood, revealing a thin waist and wide hips. Her legs were unnaturally long and her skirt was nearly too short. She brought her hands up underneath her heavy breasts and lifted them. "You're supposed to be-"

"I'm supposed to be fucking nothing, because I'm taken. _Name,"_ spat Daniel, his pistol still trained on the woman.

The woman frowned. A flash of light filled the room, and she now resembled a shorter, notably lacking and frumpier looking version of the previous woman. Her eyes were brown now, the curiously red nature of her hair had given way to plain ginger and her mouth was turned into a pouty frown. "No fun at all. Must be where Charles gets it from," she grumbled.

"I. Said. _Name._ "

She rolled her eyes. "Oh, for the love of the gods themselves, it's Evelynn. _Happy?_ " She shook her head and added, her tone filled with flirtatious lightness again. "But you can just call me _Eve._ " She flashed him a wide grin and revealed canines slightly too long and pointed for a human.

"Nice teeth. Might want to work on that," he replied. "Didn't think you'd still be alive. Charles mentioned you were sad to see him go a couple of years ago."

She averted her eyes and threw a leg over the other. "Charles is one to talk. He was less than happy to see me go as well," she huffed.

Daniel gave her a single, sharp laugh and then called out, "Charles! The fuck is taking you, I nearly blew this fox's head off." His pokemon appeared in the doorway from his bedroom a moment later, his face set in a frown. An inquisitive growl rose in the air. "The hell were you doing?"

"He was meditating some more I think," replied Evelynn, "it's what he said he was going to do before I took a nap. Probably wondering if bringing me was really a good idea." She grinned and flicked her gaze to the bisharp. "I have skills you could make great use of, if what Charles told me is anything to go off of. Big fan of not looking like yourself, aren't you?"

"Feh. Had to keep Kalosian police from finding out what I really look like. Was also trying to duck unwanted attention from some choice folk here in Castelia. Going to meet one of them tomorrow, actually." He stood up and crossed his arms. "The fuck do you want to help for?"

"I've got my reasons and they align just fine with yours, whatever they are, I can assure you."

"Nuh-uh. Not how this works. Why are you doing this?"

Eve's eyes narrowed. "Why are _you_ doing this?"

With a scoff, Daniel waved the question away. "I'm trying to do some good in the world. The fuck would a zoroark know about-"

" _That's exactly what I'm trying to do myself, asshole_ ," shrieked Evelynn. The illusion around her body dissipated and she pounced towards Daniel, landing soundlessly on what little space the counter afforded her. Daniel made for his pistol, but she seized his collar and pulled him closer to her face and just out of reach of it. With another flash of light, she took on the appearance of a dark haired woman with bloodshot, baggy eyes and pale skin. "Don't you ever fucking act like I'm not. I can do things you've never _dreamed_ of. Take my help and be appreciative." She let him go and hopped down from the counter. "You, of all people, stereotyping a dark-type." She shook her head and made her way to the bedroom, the illusion dissolving into a zoroark again. A single word met Daniel's ears, but he did not understand it.

Charles watched her stalk past thim then turned back to look at Daniel and shook his head twice.

Daniel strode over to his friend and sighed. "We don't know what we're going to have to do yet, but, well, I can't exactly deny that having someone on our side with her abilities wouldn't be useful as all hell." He tapped his foot. "You think it'll be worth it?" he asked.

The bisharp nodded once.

"She any good in a fight?" asked Daniel. Seeing Charles shake his head, he added, "But she can stay out of a fight easy enough right?" Another nod. "I don't remember ever working with her, only watching you say goodbye. She ever help us out?"

Charles smirked.

"She was just disguised the whole time, wasn't she?"

Charles' smirk widened into a genuine smile.

With a sigh, Daniel strode into the other room, and found Evelynn standing in the center of his bedroom, her hands on her hips and her teeth bared into a grin. Lights danced behind her eyes and a muffled chuckle caught in her throat.

"Was that an act? Are you both just fucking with me?" he asked, his face set in an expression caught somewhere between exasperation and amusement.

With a flash of light, Evelynn was the buxom woman again. She pressed her arms closely to her sides and bent forward, a pout on her lips. "Oh, I'll never tell, Daniel. Maybe you touched a nerve, maybe you didn't," she cooed.

With a roll of his eyes, Daniel turned about and mumbled, "We're meeting our contact tomorrow. Dress down." His eyes stuck for a moment on her chest and he shook his head. "Way down." He strode out of the room, back to the kitchenette and pulled his plate carrier from the backpack he'd been delivered. Magazines were tucked into the holding pouches, with several more pouches still empty, some sized for handgun mags. He flicked his finger against the chestplate.

 _Hell of a welcome home this is gonna be._

* * *

A light blinked on the phone on Morrissey's desk and with a sniff, he wiped his nose. "That'll be Jess. We're done here, Roland. You've got the terms and I've got the manpower. I expect those warehouses torched by nightfall," explained Morrissey. His eyes drifted to the pile of powder on his desk and then flicked back to the pale-faced man sitting across from him.

"D-Dylan, please be reasonable about this, why am I torching my warehouses? I sell you shit from them, this doesn't make any sense," replied Roland. His eyes flicked around the room, to the guards that stood in each corner behind Morrissey's desk, and then back to the red-haired man before him. "What-"

"Listen here, you two-timing son of a bitch," spat Morrissey, "I know exactly what the fuck you've been doing. Double dipping cowardly faggot. No one sells to both sides of the line in my city, burning to the fucking ground or not." He pulled a switchblade from his pocket and piled pillowy white powder onto it and snorted it. "Especially not some two-bit smuggler like you. You're gonna burn those warehouses and operate out of mine or I'll cut your cock off and feed it to you."

With a loud gulp, Roland stuttered, "D-D-Dylan, listen to yourself man, I'm not two-timing you, those deals were before all this shit hap-"

Morrissey slammed his hands on the table and roared, "No, they FUCKING weren't, you slimy little CUNT." He stood and strode around his desk to Roland and put the blade to his throat. A small trickle of blood ran from his nose, and wild rage burned in his bloodshot eyes. "Burn those fucking warehouses, Dylan, or I'll feed you to my fucking haxorus." He pulled a gilded ball from his belt and tossed it into the open space beside them. With a roar that shook the window panes and rattled the desk, chairs and shelves of books around them, a dragon materialized and stared with dripping jaws at Roland. A soft croon issued from its gullet and Dylan gave it a fond pat on the head.

"I _implore_ you to listen, Rol. Hack likes to play with his food." His hand shifted to the blades that jutted from each side of its jaw and ran his thumb across the broad side of one of them. "Do you understand me?" he asked, his voice now a deadly whisper.

"Dylan, please, I can get you whatever you need, but this'll ruin me, man, don't do thi-" With a sound like a dry heave, Roland's eyes widened and he glanced down at his stomach, where Morrissey had buried his switchblade to the hilt.

"Just had to fucking listen, you stupid fuck, just had to FUCKING LISTEN," he said, his tone rising into a manic shout. He stabbed Roland again. Again. Again. Again. He pulled his switchblade loose and tossed it onto the table with a clatter and then wiped his hands on the man's clothing. "Fucking dumbass." He strode back to his seat to the sounds of Roland sobbing. "Hack. Dinner."

As he watched his haxorus bite a considerable portion of the screaming man before him off, Morrissey reached over to his phone and clicked a button, then pulled the receiver to his ear. "Speak."

"We got her," said the voice on the other end. Morrissey's frown transformed slowly into a grin.

"Oh?"

"Yes, sir. She's on the reserve. No source of water larger than one foot by one foot by one foot is accessible to her."

Morrissey stood and snapped his fingers, and his guards moved to his side immediately. Hack looked up from the bloody mess of a meal that lay upon the ground in front of him and crooned again. "Hack, finish up. Gentlemen, I want this fuckface's warehouses burned. I want my helo fueled. And I want Agnes and Annabelle. The North Wind awaits."


	2. Fine Sushi

Daniel rubbed his eyes and stared into the bathroom mirror. He wagered that it was no later than six in the morning. With a groan, he splashed cold water into his face and rubbed the last bits of crust from his eyes. He dried himself off and turned to pull his shirt from the coat-hanger on the door. As he turned about again, his eyes caught the large scar where Karan had impaled him with an icicle and grinned in spite of himself. _Guess life's gonna get started on fucking up my back now._ He pulled his shirt on and rubbed his chest through it, the raised bumps of the numerous scars and gunshot wounds pushing through the fabric against his fingers. _Or maybe it'll just go back to carving me up from the front._

A low growl filled the bathroom. "Couldn't sleep?" he asked his reflection. A soft hum. "Same. I'll admit, Charles, I'm a bit worried. Meeting's today. Could be a set-up, you know?" A harsh growl of concern reached his ears. "You're a walking switchblade and I'm a fast draw, I think we should be fine if it's a trap. But, I dunno. I'm feeling just a bit hopeful that it's not. Like maybe trusting that police officer was a good idea." He turned to meet his bisharp's gaze at last and grinned. "First time for everything, right?"

Charles shrugged and turned his head towards the living room. He frowned and then turned back to look at Daniel.

"You wanted her here. Don't tell me you're pussing out," he said seriously. Charles' frown deepened and he crossed his arms. With a grunt, he shook his head and then shrugged, then looked at Daniel meaningfully. "Unsure?" The two stared at one another for several seconds before Charles finally nodded.

"Aren't we all."

With a sigh and grunt Charles fiddled with the leather necklace he wore.

Daniel watched him run his finger across the portion that thickened into a sort of pendant and furrowed his brow. "That thing's covered in blood, Charles, why the hell did you take it from that fucking knifecat?" he asked. _Bit of an odd trophy to have. If it's even a trophy._ The bisharp pulled the pendant from around his neck and stared down at it in his palm. A long silence stretched out between the two, and Daniel frowned. "Charles? You alright?" He stepped up to his friend and put a hand to Charles' shoulder - he was shuddering. With a start, the pokemon snapped out of his trance and looked up at Daniel, his mouth set in a thin frown. His hands clenched the pendant tightly in a fist and he sighed.

Charles looped the pendant back around his neck and left Daniel with a small grunt and a vague gesture towards the living room.

Daniel watched his friend retreat away and shook his head, incredulous. _The fuck?_

* * *

Evelynn groaned as something shook her awake, then swatted something heavy, cold and metal away from her shoulder. Her eyes flew open in pain and she yelped. **"Ouch, ouch, ouch!"** She clutched her paw and grit her teeth and looked blearily towards the thing she smacked - the fuzzy shape of bisharp began to sharpen in her eyes and with a long, breathy sigh, she brushed hair from her face and muttered, **"Sorry. I forgot- I didn't- I was drunk yesterday. Messes with your memory a bit."** She sat up proper in the couch and stretched, yawning all the while.

With a playful grin, she reached down and pulled the chainmail mat Charles slept on and set it up next to her on the couch, then patted the freshly armored cushion. **"Sit down, tell me what you dreamed about, Charles."** She tugged on the bisharp's arm and with a groan of resignation, he sat down. She succumbed to a fit of giggles before regaining her composure and asking, **"Oooh, did you dream about me? About** ** _us_** **, maybe? You remember the good ol' days, right? Me disguised as a human and Daniel none the wiser. Shame that didn't happen too often."** She tapped a playful finger against his cheek.

She had missed him more than she thought.

Charles groaned and shook his head, then turned to watch Daniel stride into the living room, yawning and mumbling something vague about coffee and breakfast. **"Hardly. Spent night thinking."** He paused, then grinned, **"Surprised. Expected poor response to early morning."**

 **"I spent enough of yesterday passed out."** With a toothy grin, Evelynn leaned against him and ran her thumb along the broad side of the blade that stuck out from his head. **"What'd you think about? Was it about-"** Charles threw her a serious look and she pulled away immediately. She frowned and inhaled sharply, then said, **"Touched a nerve, I guess. What happened?"**

He began to finger the pendant on the necklace he wore and said nothing for a while. Evelynn watched Daniel pick up the room service menu and heard him grumble something indistinct. He looked up and caught Eve's eyes, then scowled. "Fucking room service is an arm and leg, and Ricard would compress into a diamond out of sheer fucking force of anger if I paid this kind of money for it. We'll head out to a cafe in an hour for breakfast." He tossed the pamphlet aside and grumbled as he set about making himself coffee. Eve caught him mumble, "'Least the coffee's free," when Charles snapped her attention back to him.

 **"Odd decision."** He let go of the pendant and stared at the door that led out into the hall. **"Weavile. Vicious. Evil. Lost to me."** He raised a fist and clenched it. **"Difficult time. Beat her again and again. Ghost King healed her. Something did. Almost unkillable."** He punched his fist into his open palm and stood. **"Drove fist through skull. Felt bone break and brain squish."**

Evelynn put a hand to her mouth and gulped, nauseous. **"Charles, that's disgu-** "

 **"Didn't kill her. Unconscious. Should have expected it. Was okay with killing her. Too many lives taken. Tried to kill Daniel. Me. Everyone."** He began to pace. **"King was killed. Karan - the weavile - didn't give up. Lost mind and attacked. Grief, perhaps. No purpose? Was victim of terrible things."**

The zoroark held up her hand. **"What happened? What terrible things?"** She gazed intently at Charles, frowning.

 **"Use imagination. No guess too awful,"** he replied gruffly. **"Still, no excuse. Too many lives destroyed. Tried to kill us all. But…"** He crossed his arms. **"Karan lost. Punched her away. Told her to run. Turned away, back to Daniel, to everyone. Wanted to go home. Thought of liechi berry tarts. Almost smelled them."** He pulled the necklace off and held it out to Evelynn with a sad smile.

 **"Loud crack. Looked at her, ready to pounce. Face full of rage. Blink. Face full of horror. Knew what happened. Daniel killed her."** He dropped the necklace into Evelynn's outstretched hands and sat down beside her, staring at the door once more. **"Watched her scream, cry. Listened to plea for life. Didn't want to die."** Charles turned abruptly and seized Evelynn's snout, turning her head to look him in the eyes. With his free hand he pointed to each of her eyes in turn and muttered, **"Watched the lights. Saw them die."**

He let go of the zoroark and put his head into his hands with a frustrated growl and tapped a foot against the floor. **"Daniel shot her. She had lost. Hadn't killed Ricard - the shade did. She had lost. Tried to kill us anyway."** He sat back in his seat and looked up at the ceiling. **"Daniel killed Karan."**

Evelynn frowned. **"In all the time since that...have you done anything about it? Talked to him about it?"**

Charles shook his head. **"No. Unsure how to proceed. Karan is complicated. Lost - kept fighting. Daniel made it worse. Won - kept killing."** He growled again and snatched the necklace from the zoroark's hand and held it up to the light. **"Cat. Why? You lost. Why fight?"** He threw the necklace bitterly onto the coffee table before them and crossed his arms. **"Would still be alive. Would not have been killed by Daniel."**

The zoroark picked up the necklace and ran a finger across a bloodied section of the leather pendant it bore. **"Are you sure about that, Charles? Would Daniel really just let her walk away?"**

The bisharp took the necklace from the zoroark once again and looped it around his neck, then left the room without a word.

* * *

The morning, the cafe, the hollow meandering and monotonous weapon checks of the first half of the day had left Daniel in a state of profound boredom. But now, with the meeting fast approaching, the soaring feeling of anticipation welled up in his stomach. It was now that his optimism would be tested, he figured. He filed out of the bus alongside Charles, Evelynn and several others, glanced up and down the street, then down at the slip of paper with the location of the meeting.

" _Cianwood Seaside Sushi_ … where the hell is it?" he grumbled. His eyes scanned up the street, past countless restaurants and clothing shops, then down the other side of the street as the bus pulled away, past still more restaurants and clothing stores. "Castelia's fucking shopping district can go fuck itself." He made off down the street, beckoning for Charles and Eve to follow him.

The zoroark caught up to his side, sporting a human form with fair skin, dark hair and brilliantly green eyes. Her thin mouth was twisted into a broad smile as she said, "What's wrong with the shopping district? Lots of inspiration here." She pointed across Daniel at a store they passed. "Like that dress. _Very_ eye-catching." In an undertone, she added, "You humans are always trying to wear as little as possible that can still be considered 'clothed'. Just get naked at that point."

On Daniel's other side, Charles chuckled.

"For an 'ark that's spent so much time in the city, I'd expect you'd be used to it by now," grumbled Daniel, whipping his head around, trying to find the restaurant. "You mind helping me find this fucking place?"

Evelynn laughed. "I am. I'm just making a point. Don't get much opportunity to chat up humans. Unless I'm about to rob them, anyway," she whispered. Daniel turned to look at her and raised an eyebrow. "Not anymore, not anymore. That's the _old_ Evelynn. The new one is helpful. For instance…" She stopped and jerked her thumb over her shoulder. "We passed that restaurant a minute ago, but you weren't paying attention. Overhang with traditional Johtoan characters on it."

The detective turned about and squinted at the overhang that protruded from otherwise flat facade of the stores. "You're enjoying this, aren't you?" he said at last, his face set in an unamused frown.

The disguised zoroark smiled more broadly and set off. "Let's go, Charles."

Daniel gave a start and said aloud, "How the hell do you know what traditional Johtoan looks like?" Evelynn glanced over her shoulder and flashed him a grin and then faced forward again. He rolled his eyes and picked up his pace, passing them up a moment later. He walked into the restaurant and straight to the hostess and leaned against her podium. She looked affronted, and opened her mouth to speak, but he cut her off with a raised palm and produced a piece of paper. " _Tanaka-sama_. The three of us." He pointed to himself, and then to Evelynn and Charles.

The woman's eyes narrowed and her mouth closed, shaping into a frown. She leaned forward towards Daniel and growled, " _Dare-da_?" [1]

Daniel's eyes flicked down to the paper and then back to the woman. " _Jakkaru wa koko ni iru._ " [2]

The hostess continued to stare at Daniel through narrowed eyes. The corner of her mouth twitched and her gaze drifted to Evelynn and then Charles. "Pokemon are not allowed to be out of their balls in the company of Tanaka-sama."

Daniel leaned forward over the podium and mumbled, "I walk in with Charles free or I walk in with my gun raised. _Choose one._ " He pulled his jacket open, flashing his pistol in the process, and then covered it once again.

The color drained from the woman's face and her eyes widened. "Y-you're here to k-kill Hideo?"

"No. He summoned me. But you can fuck off with me walking into a gods damned trap without a fighting chance by my side or in my hands. So, if there's a fucking problem, you go tell fucking Hideo I go in like this or I fuck off to my home."

He heard the woman gulp and she nodded and turned to gesture down a hall. "Please, head down that hallway and enter the private room on your right. Hideo has been expecting you."

Daniel nodded and set off, gesturing over his shoulder for Evelynn and Charles to follow. To his left was an open area that sat a variety of serious looking men in dark suits. His eyes scanned frantically across each table, watching for any tells that he was about to be given more holes than he'd ever need. _Don't you dare fuck me, Hideo. Don't you dare fuck me._

"I recognize some of those guys. Johtoan businessmen. Must be back on business," muttered Evelynn in Daniel's ear.

"Good."

"What do you mean 'good'?" she asked.

"Means they're not here to fuck me. Explain later. Just keep your mouth shut." He stopped in front of the door and smirked as he sized it up. "Charles, door's big enough for the both of us. Dual entry." The bisharp nodded and stood by his side. "Let's go."

They threw the door open, revealing a single man seated at a round table set for three. Tanaka sat before an empty plate and tall glass of water. "Winters! Come in. Close the door, please." He beckoned to him.

Daniel crossed the threshold and pointed at the door. "Get that, please, Eve." The disguised zoroark frowned and closed the door with a sharp snap.

As Daniel made his way to the table, he pulled a chair from another table he passed and set it next to his own. Hideo watched the man adjust the seats at the table to accommodate the new chair with a raised eyebrow. "Daniel. What are you doing? And where's Ana?" he asked quietly.

"Not here. On vacation. Well-deserved one, too. This is Eve. Associate of mine," he explained, gesturing to the woman as she sat down.

"Does your bisharp always sit at the table with you?" asked Hideo, giving Evelynn a single nod before turning back to Daniel.

"Yeah. He does now. More than earned it. Damn well deserves it." He gave Charles a proud smirk and then focused on Hideo again. The bisharp hummed in affirmation.

"I see. Was a bit confused. Thought perhaps a Sinnohan had gotten their claws into you," he said coolly. "It is my understanding that Lumiose is full of them."

"Enough of them." Daniel paused and searched the man's face. Hideo's skin had not weathered the last several years well. Dark circles rimmed his eyes, deep wrinkles marred his face and a nasty scar ran from the corner of his mouth to his right earlobe. "Not all bad, either. By the fucking gods, Tan, you look like hammered shit."

Hideo leaned back in his chair and let out a booming laugh. "I'm alive, that's a damn sight nicer than most of the others. I'll take a shit face and bad scar over no face at all." He patted his protruding stomach and guffawed again. "Besides, I make up for my devilish good looks with positively beautiful body. This last year has been the easiest and most terrifying I've had in this organization, Daniel. I've grown fat with good sushi and steady profits, and now…" He sighed and his smile fell. "And now… _Morrissey._ The bastard. The disrespectful, self-absorbed, gods damned _bastard_."

"What's the problem? Why am I even here, Hideo? It's clearly not to shoot the shit. It's not even to fucking eat, there's no waiter here yet."

Tanaka lowered his head and mumbled an apology. "Yes, I know. I did not expect my help to be you, when I reached out to my good brother. I expected...a rejection. I expected him to call me a bastard who had sown his own seeds of failure and was now set to reap a mighty harvest of death."

Daniel's eyes narrowed. "And you got me instead. Big upgrade."

The gangster's brow crumpled and his mouth turned itself into a frown. "Ohh, Daniel - more than a big upgrade. A _deadly_ one." He shook his head. "We were friends. Then you left, and by the gods, I _hated_ you for it. You turned tail on this organization, on the jobs we ran. You turned your back on _me_ , Daniel. My favorite underling. You would have gone far. Unova had a place at many a great table for you. Instead, it had it only for me as you ran off with that hex maniac.

"And now, here I am. Still stunned that I received a call from _you_ of all people. That _you_ would be the one to see my request through. That you would be _my_ savior. Johto's savior. All the _fucking_ regions' savior."

"Tch. What the fuck are you talking about?" asked Daniel. "And don't go fucking acting like I've already accepted this fucking job. Or that I'm _your_ gods damned savior, Hideo."

Tanaka reached out and grasped Daniel's hands. "Please, Daniel, please has just left to his private stake of land. You have to find him and kill him before it's too late. But you _also_ have to get into his building and burn all records of the transaction before you do. Time is of the essence. She cannot run forever."

Daniel wriggled his hands out of his old friend's with a look of confusion. "The fuck? What are you talking about? Who's 'she'? Why the fuck can't you get this to be an inside job? Just fucking pay someone."

"It had to be someone I know wouldn't sell me out. You. The turncoat. I can trust you." He took a deep breath. "The rifle! The ammunition! The vest, everything I told you to procure - you're going to storm a building filled with angry gangsters that know to kill you on sight, all to burn records that should have never existed. Wipe a transaction clean from the books. It cannot ever be allowed to see the light of day."

Daniel opened his mouth to protest, but Hideo cut him off. "Daniel. Daniel, listen to me. You're going to torch those records, delete them, whatever is required. And then you need to get to these coordinates." He pulled a map viewer from his pocket and set it on the table. "And you need to find Morrissey and you need to hunt him down and kill him. It's not enough to set the North Wind free. She must be saved and her future safety secured. You must keep word of this transgression from being traced here to Unova."

"WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT, HIDEO?" shouted Daniel.

The man quailed beneath the detective, and his eyes flicked to the door. "He's hunting Suicune. She has been taken, Daniel. Morrissey is a big game hunter. His tastes have become more outlandish with each kill. And now he's done it. By the gods, he's done it, Daniel. She's stolen and running, fleeing a man with all the time in the world as it burns down around him."

Evelynn made a noise halfway between a growl and a gasp and poorly blended it with a cough. Daniel spared her a look of disdain before he said, "How the fuck did he get a hold of Suicune?"

"He's had a team of snatchers combing the regions. There was news in Johto just a few days ago about a shrine going silent after keeping in radio contact with Ecruteak. The bodies of three monks were found hanging from trees deeper in the forest. So now the shrine is deserted - but it was one of the only locations Suicune actually visited; sightings of her racing across Johto are the only other way we know she's still in the region. Once a week or so she'll show herself on the outskirts of a city or town, usually to a small child or an elder before she disappears again.

"She's been here in Unova for about a day, and captured for at least another. In five days or so, she's not going to show up outside a village, and it's going to cause concern."

Daniel leaned back in his chair and and crossed his arms. "And in two weeks they're going to panic, because that's a reasonable thing to do," he scoffed. "Do you really expect the entire Johtoan people to-"

The sound of Hideo's hands slamming into the table rang out in the room. " _Do not pretend you know even an ounce about my people or their ways._ " Daniel stared back at Hideo and sniffed, then gestured for him to continue. "My apologies. I'm on edge. Johto will know soon enough, and it will cause an inter-regional incident."

"How? The Kanjohva Pact could smooth this over without an issue." mused Daniel. "Besides, news has been mostly focused on the increased police efforts at combating gang activity here in the city; haven't seen shit about tensions with Kanto."

"Because Kanto doesn't share its reservations about Unova _with_ Unova. But it _does_ with Johto, and frankly, none of us give a shit that _nīsan_ thinks that Unovans are too corrupt and unstable to be in a pact with. The Johtoans are tired of being leaned on, Daniel, and they've made this clear to Kanto recently." Hideo fumbled with something inside of his jacket and removed a pack of cigarettes and a lighter.

With a click and a puff, he pulled the lighter and a smoldering cigarette away from his mouth and continued, "Regional politicking. _Kuso_ , the lot of it. Look at me, I'm a _gangster_ , Daniel, here at the top with fine restaurants and a finer life, and I'm going to run away because Morrissey has lost his mind and wants to send my home into a panic. But not before I drive a knife into his back." His breathing had evened out, and with another drag of his cigarette, he looked to Daniel pointedly.

"You mean _I'm_ going to drive a knife into his back." Daniel pulled the dagger in the small of his back free and drove it into the table. The smell of burning cloth and wood rose into the air and smoke swirled up from the dagger. "Go back to your fucking region and get fat in the country. I don't give two shits about regional politics, I'll give Morrissey a knife in the back because the bastard fucking deserves it and I'm already here."

Hideo regarded the smoking knife with unease and then looked Daniel in the eye. "Please allow me to provide you with transportation, at the very least," he said meekly.

Daniel pulled the knife free from the table and sheathed it. "Fine. Jeep and a transport helicopter."

The Johtoan looked flabbergasted. "You- wha- excuse me? A _transport helicopter_?"

"I need something to take the jeep in if I want to drive around Morrissey's big ass hunting range." He paused and picked at the edge of one of his fingernails. "It _is_ a big ass hunting range, isn't it?"

"Well, yes, naturally. It's probably forty square kilometers. But do you really-"

"Yes," interjected Daniel, "I do need that helicopter. A pilot would be nice too. I sure as shit can't fly one. Civilian, preferably. Not trusting a gangster pilot as far as I could kick a geodude."

Hideo sagged in his chair. "Very well." He pulled a phone from his pocket began to flip through his contacts. "I'll have everything set up for your tomorrow. Where are you stay-"

"Leave the car and pilot contact info here. I'm not giving you the hotel address. I'll come knocking to get the keys from whoever would be set to deliver them to me," said Daniel shortly.

"Daniel, please, I'm not out to-"

"No. We used to run together, Hideo, but not anymore. This meeting has been one long heaping of shit on my plate so you and yours can sit comfortably on a throne of stolen hopes and broken families." Daniel stood and gestured for Evelynn and Charles to follow. "I didn't do this as a favor to you. I did it as a favor to a policeman in Lumiose. At least he saw I was a fuck-up trying to course correct." He strode to the door and ushered the disguised zoroark and bisharp from the room. "You don't have to, though, Hideo. You're going to crash right into a ground cushioned with the finest fucking flaaffy wool in all your gods damned region and wait out the end from your comfortable little house in the middle of Bumfuck, Johto."

Daniel stepped through the threshold and partially closed the door, then hissed through the crack, "And you're going to fucking owe me. Expect a call." The door shut with a loud snap, and Daniel left the man and the room to a pronounced silence.

* * *

[1] _Who are you?_

[2] _Jackal is here._


	3. High Rise

Daniel rubbed his eyes and stared at the coffee table in front of him. Loaded magazines, his rifle and pistol and a vest with freshly purchased plates in the carrier pouches laid upon it. The dim light in his living room left their shapes somewhat murky and cast a heavy weight on his eyes. He shook his head and yawned, then slapped his cheek. He needed to stay up as late as possible - the upcoming raid would be an all-night one, and his sleep schedule once he hit the hunting range where Morrissey was at large would be less than ideal.

He stood up and strode into his kitchenette and pulled a bag of ground coffee from a cupboard and began to prepare himself a pot. He glanced at the digital display on the oven. "Four in the morning. Just a few more hours. Just a few more hours." The smell of coffee hit his nostrils and roused the waning energy within him. "Should be good enough to last me to seven."

He couldn't quite pin his difficulty at staying up on anything specific. It used to be so easy to do - even as recently as his time in Kalos. But now, not more than a month or two later, something had changed. A weight had draped itself across his shoulders between then and now, and where it came from, he did not know. He focused back on the coffee pot before him and watched it fill with black liquid and frowned. His past hadn't so much caught up with him as he had caught up with it. He seized the handle of the pot and began to rummage about for a mug.

Perhaps when Morrissey laid dead, he reasoned, now filling the cup with steaming hot coffee, this weight would lift itself from his body. He took a sip. He felt his mouth blister as he drank the coffee down and let out a long, slow exhale. He shifted his shoulders. Perhaps.

"That didn't look smart," came a voice.

Daniel grunted. "Thought you'd be sleeping," he replied, pouring himself another cup.

Evelynn hoisted herself onto the counter and crossed her legs. She wore blonde hair and a translucent nightgown on a delicately shaped figure. Her eyes glowed an unnatural red in the dim light of the kitchen. "I'll have most of tomorrow to sleep. Isn't that why you're still up right now?"

"Stop trying to seduce me," he said abruptly, setting his mug of coffee down hard enough that some of the liquid sloshed out and ran across his hands. He let go of the mug with a swear and shook his hand, sending droplets of coffee sailing through the air.

The zoroark grinned and leaned forward. The nightgown stretched as her breasts grew heavier and she said in a musical tone, "Afraid you'll betray your precious girlfriend for a _dirty pokemon?_ "

The detective shot her a look that bore so much venom she shrunk away in a flash of light, revealing her regular form.

"I'm tired," he began, stepping towards her. "I'm back in my home region - a place I left to keep Ana safe. A place where, as you already know, I did a lot of _bad shit_. I'm here to kill my former boss. And I'm about to storm a building filled with angry fucks that know to shoot to kill and don't care if Charles or you are in the way. The last thing I need is some punk fox that's got it in her head she can win me over with fake tits and plastic smiles." He squared up to her and jabbed a finger into her chest. "Understand?"

He returned to his cup of coffee and took another sip. A short silence settled between the two when a small, meek voice said, "I'm sorry." Daniel turned to see Evelynn dressed in dull grey bedclothes and sporting lank black hair. The brilliant red of her irises had given way to dull crimson, and her pallid skin made it clear to Daniel that he had made his point.

"It's fine. Just stop bothering me with it. Your abilities are going to be a hell of a lot more useful against the shitheads we're about to fight," he replied. He set his mug down and furrowed his brow. "You can turn invisible, right?"

The zoroark nodded.

"Can you turn other people invisible?"

Evelynn tapped her chin and shrugged. "Yeah, but I have to basically be riding on their back. Do you want to carry me around or something?"

Daniel looked back into his mug with a smirk and felt the weight on his shoulders lighten. "No." He turned to look toward his rooms where Charles slept in his ball. Evelynn looked from him to the room and then back. She began to shake her head in protest as Daniel said, "I need some foam blade protectors."

* * *

"This is so stupid. I look stupid. _We_ look stupid. Why did I agree to this?"

Steam rose lazily out of a nearby grate behind the disguised zoroark hanging off his bisharp's back. The shadows they cast in the light of the alley played dramatically against the rising fog and brought a smirk to Daniel's lips. He was still clutching a few excess strips of foam in his hands when he gestured to them and said, "You're going to be invisible, what does it matter?"

Charles grunted and nodded. " **Has a point."**

" **You can keep your mouth shut about this,"** hissed Eve near where she imagined his ears would be.

The bisharp began to laugh. " **Odd. Expected advances. Not one for when the tables turn?"** He adjusted his gait to account for the new weight and gave Daniel a gauntleted thumbs up.

"Alright, time for the real shit though," said Daniel, rummaging about in his pocket. As Charles watched his trainer go through his various pockets and pouches, Evelynn let him go and stood beside him, her arms crossed and a pout on her face.

Charles caught movement out of the corner of his eye and turned to look at the driver of the jeep stick his head out of the window and look back at Daniel with a frown. "Are we leavin' soon or what?" he called out. His voice echoed in the alley behind the restaurant they had visited the previous day.

Daniel pulled a small holo-map from a pouch at his side and looked back at the driver with an annoyed grimace. "You're getting paid to drive and fly, not to fucking ask questions."

The driver opened his mouth, then closed it and furrowed his brow. Charles couldn't understand what he mumbled, but the man nodded either way and sat down in the jeep again.

"Anyway, if you look here…" Daniel pointed to the second floor of the forty-floor tower they'd be working their way through. "This is where you'll be entering from. There's a building next door that touches the main tower for a little while on the second floor, and that means plenty of windows to cut through." He pointed to this unusual architectural design decision and then continued, "All of the fighting will probably be concentrated to these floors…" He pointed to the 38th, 39th and 40th floors. "Because the rest of this fucking building is a business front for Morrissey. Stay invisible until you get to the 39th floor. Use the elevator, probably the fastest and safest way to do things. I'm going to clear 38 myself. When you hear the gunfire, you drop the fuckin' hammer on the 39th floor."

Charles looked at Daniel in alarm and shook his head vigorously with a low, gravelly hum. Evelynn too, he noticed, looked concerned. She shifted into what Charles had seen her refer to as her "usual" self - a black-haired woman with blue eyes, red eyeshadow and a loose, dark grey dress. "An entire floor to yourself? That's not exactly...easy, is it? And what about us? We're going to do a floor by ourselves too?"

Daniel rolled his neck. "You'll be running distractions more than anything. You can turn invisible, so use that to your advantage. Keep them confused. Set off sprinklers, drop some smoke grenades or something. I phoned Hideo last night and told him to give us some, they should be in a case in the trunk."

Evelynn cocked her head and glanced at Charles. He replied with a shrug.

"Pull the pin out using the little metal ring and then throw the big cylinder," he explained. "It's not hard. Make lots of noise, flip over desks, obstruct hallways, kill gangsters - whatever it is you need to do to keep those bastards from coming down to fuck with me. Just remember to _wait for me_. Don't come down for me, understand? _Do not come down for me._ "

Charles frowned. " **What if you die?"**

Evelynn's gaze flicked between the bisharp and Daniel. "He's got a point, Daniel. What if-"

Daniel put a hand to Charles's shoulder and looked him in the eyes. "I won't." There was a fire behind them that seemed different to the determination and almost grim resolve he'd grown accustomed to in Kalos. Back then, Daniel's eyes, his demeanor - it all seemed so resigned. There was an inevitability - the feeling that the fights they chose were anything but a choice. Now - things had changed. The fire was wild. Daniel was smiling. After two long years in the misery that was Lumiose's _quartier rouge_ , his best friend was smiling more than he had in all that time. Something within Charles recoiled. It was almost revelry. Perhaps it _was_.

With a forced grin, Charles nodded back, though he felt his stomach twist into a knot. It was not common for Daniel to do things alone - they always fought back to back, side to side or at the very least in the same room. He looked away from his trainer and let out what he hoped sounded like a confident grunt.

It must have worked, because Daniel patted him again on the shoulder and began patting various pouches on the vest he wore, then turned to the jeep and began to rummage around in the back for the crate that contained the smoke grenades. He pulled it free, threw the top open and handed several to Eve. "See the ring? Just like I said, pull the ring out and throw the cylinder. Easy enough, right?"

The zoroark returned to her fox form and took the grenades, and the small belt to hook them, from Daniel and fixed the belt around her waist. She morphed into her usual human form - the belt remained, though it appeared to phase partially into her body where her waist had expanded out to maintain human proportions.

Daniel frowned. "Always wondered how that worked."

"I guess we really will be invisible as long as I can manage it," she mumbled. "I hate when disguises fall through."

"Alright," he began, taking a deep breath, "Let's get moving." He walked around to the passenger side of the jeep and sat shotgun.

When the other two doors closed with a snap, the driver adjusted the mirror and then turned to look at Charles, then to Evelynn, then to Daniel. There was a long pause, and Charles began to feel annoyed. He growled, and immediately after, Daniel added, "Yeah. He's got a point. Let's get fucking moving."

"Just clarifying, I'm going to be waiting outside until the all clear? What's the all clear signal?"

Daniel gave the man a look that Charles recognized. _How stupid can you possibly be?_ Charles grinned, even as Daniel explained, "When you see someone flying out of the 40th floor screaming at the top of his lungs, that's your cue to come on up."

The man turned white.

* * *

Charles stalked through the alley with Eve at his side. The smell of garbage drifted through the narrow passage between the buildings and made Eve wrinkle her nose. " **Gods, this place smells** _ **awful**_ **."** She glanced around and then furrowed her brows at Charles. " **How are we getting up there? Front door was locked and I don't think breaking in would be a good idea."**

The bisharp glanced around and then continued down the alley. " **Need a ladder."** His eyes scanned the side of the building and then spotted railing around a bend in the alley. He made his way over and glanced up and saw a fire escape with a retracted ladder some twenty feet above him. " **Hrmm."** He considered the building adjacent to the one they needed to get into and rubbed his hand against the wall. " **Stone. Get on."** He gestured to his back and the extended the blades in his arms.

With some apprehension, Evelynn got onto his back and mumbled, " **Alright. What are you- whoa!"** Charles launched up and dug a forearm into the wall with a loud crack. Bits of grit crumbled to the ground below, and he began the climb awkwardly up the wall, digging his forearm with some difficulty into the wall and gaining altitude bit by bit. He craned his neck around and glanced at the fire escape. It was several feet below them now.

" **High enough. Jump,"** he panted.

" **Jump!? What? It's like a twelve foot gap!"** she said in alarm. Her eyes gauged the distance and she frowned. " **I don't know if…"**

With a growl, Charles cut her off. " **Have leverage but not time. Difficult to maintain this position.** _ **Jump.**_ "

" **If I die I'm going to… going to…"** The rest of her statement was cut off as she leapt away from the bisharp and caught the railing. Her chest and stomach slammed into the railing and she let out a mixture of a groan and a cough before she pulled herself up onto the fire escape and laid out on the ground. " **Ohhh gods, that was stupid. Why did I-"**

" **Complain later! Catch me, might miss!"** snarled Charles, interrupting her. He he pulled his forearm free from the wall and launched himself towards her caught the railing his with his arms. He pulled himself up onto the escape with Eve's help and caught his breath for a moment. " **Good. Very good. Kick ladder down. Need to move up after."**

He ascended up a few flights of stairs on the escape and found himself at a door at the top floor of the building. Below him, he heard the ladder fall and lock. He jumped up and dug his blades into the wall again, and scaled a short distance up onto the roof. He turned about on his stomach and reach his arms out for Evelynn to help pull her up, then got to his feet and glanced around. The roof was largely featureless save for ventilators and A/C units. He made his way over to where the building connected with the one they needed to enter. " **Drop down carefully. Don't want to alert anyone."** He dropped down and dangled himself from the ledge, then slid himself down top of the connector and crept across towards the window before him.

He heard a loud _thunk_ behind him and saw Eve flat on her rear with a frown on her face. He gave her a long stare of disapproval before she retorted, " **I don't do this quiet infiltration shit! I use disguises and seduction!"** Charles smirked and turned back to the glass and peered through it. An empty office greeted him, the lights off and door closed. He used his forearm blade to begin to cut through the glass and kept his eyes focused on the small viewport the door had, waiting for someone to pass by and see him.

After a few minutes of tedious glass-cutting, Charles pushed the roughly-circular slab of glass to the ground where it landed with a soft thud on the carpeted interior. He looked about and nodded to Evelynn to follow after did so, and then the zoroark jumped on the bisharp's back. A moment later, the two had disappeared, and they began the arduous process of winding through an office. Thankfully, only a single janitor seemed to be present, and he was currently vacuuming another office on the other end of the floor.

" **Used up all our good luck getting in, I think,"** hissed Eve.

The bisharp did not reply - he was too focused listening for the janitor to stop vacuuming and suddenly appear in the halls while also trying to work out where the elevator was. After several wrong turns that left an increasingly annoying string of profanity ringing in his ears from his cargo, he found several sets of double doors with the telltale up and down buttons beside each of them.

He looked between the three sets and was about to ask which to use when Eve hissed again, " **It doesn't matter which, they all do the same thing! Just move!"**

Charles walked as quickly as his clinking feet allowed him to on the marble floor and stepped into the compartment. Eve reached out, her arm becoming a shimmering, multi-hued translucent silhouette as she did, and pressed the button with a 39 on it. The doors closed without incident and she immediately dropped the illusion and let out a long sigh.

" **Okay,** _ **now**_ **we've used up all our good luck."**

Charles rolled his eyes and kept his focus on the doors, replying with a gruff, " **Hardly done much that remarkable. Need to be invisible again soon. No idea how many there are."** Evelynn groaned and put up the illusion once again as they passed the 37th floor. The bisharp noticed her right foot was twitching and grunted. " **Nervous?"**

" **Nervous? Hell no, I'm-"** The doors opened, revealing a sight that made Eve catch a gasp in her throat. Long rows of glass walls and elaborate, expensive wooden tables, desks and chairs were laid out before them. Finely dressed men bearing horrific facial scars and visibly armed with pistols, shotguns and submachine guns milled about. Several seemed occupied with reviewing a large ledger, while several others passed documents and manila envelopes about. Eve caught several pudgier men sitting in offices working through stacks of papers and envelopes at computers.

Charles stepped out slowly when a loud, curious ping made him spin to his left in alarm. A fourth elevator he hadn't noticed with far larger doors opened up, revealing a pallet brimming with packages wrapped in plastic, several nondescript yellow envelopes, and a few oddly bulging, black duffel bags.

His eyes strayed towards a sleeping houndoom sitting in an office nearby. It stirred and raised its head with a yawn. A second later, it perked up and stood, sniffing the air and looking about with an intense glare. It stalked out of the room and into the hallway, still sniffing, and then began to make its way towards the two.

" **What do we do?"** mumbled Eve in a noticeably panicked tone. Charles replied with a barely audible hum.

The houndoom stepped ever closer, its insistent sniffing clearly beginning to pinpoint their position. It's cruel stare bore straight through the space where Charles and Evelynn stood and made something very clear to the bisharp.

" **He knows."** Charles shifted into an offensive stance. Perhaps their good luck had indeed been spent. The houndoom was less than a foot away now, when it stopped, then reared up and growled.

" **Daniel hasn't given the signal yet, if we attack now he'll be-"**

A gunshot rang out from somewhere below them and Charles immediately threw a left-handed uppercut straight into the underside of the houndoom's muzzle. He followed up after with a vicious right-handed swing, and sent it sailing into the wall to his left, where it crumpled to the ground and lay still.

At the same moment, Evelynn unhooked a smoke grenade from her belt and threw it into the center of the room as panic exploded into the air.

* * *

It was a wonder the receptionist had not said anything, reasoned Daniel, his eyes focused on the glowing "37" on keypad in front of him. Perhaps he still looked the part. Or she was intimidated. _Maybe no one is stupid enough to walk in this armed and not be there intentionally for something important. Hell, maybe she just doesn't get paid enough to give a shit._ His thoughts drifted to Ricard for a moment. If he was here, he could have given him a ring and asked if the police had been sent out.

 _Like the police would really show up to raid Morrissey's fucking tower._ The doors parted, revealing a tired businessman wearing a crumpled suit and bearing heavy stubble on his face. He went pale at the sight of the heavily armed man staring back at him. Daniel stepped out and gestured for him to enter. The fellow responded by backing up against the wall and beginning to sweat profusely.

"I'm not here for you. Relax," said Daniel in what he hoped was a casual tone. "Go home. Best idea you've have had all day." He looked him up and down and added, "Maybe all week. You're a mess."

The man did not move. "W-why are you here?"

With a sigh, Daniel shook his head. "Really? You want to know the answer to that question? I'm here for the folks a floor up. _Go home._ Don't tell anyone." His eyes flickered down to the rifle in his hands and then back to the man's face. "Understood?"

The man's response took the form of simultaneously mumbling an unintelligible agreement, emptying his bladder, and tripping over his own feet on his way into the elevator. Daniel watched him stumble in and waved him farewell as the man jammed the button to close the door repeatedly.

Daniel turned away from the elevator and made his way to the stairwell near the elevators. He heard a woman gasp to his left and turned to see an office worker stepping out of her office, clutching an empty mug. He put a finger to his lips and said quietly, "No late nights tonight, lady. Head home. Have a cocktail." He paused and shifted his shoulders. "Rethink your employment while you're at it." He slipped into the stairwell without another word, the sound of the woman slumping to the ground, unconscious, at his back.

He took the steps two at a time and stopped outside the door with a red "38" painted on it. Through the tiny window he spied a man in a white suit with a cellphone to his ear, shouting angrily into it. A long section of wall sat behind him. _Good. They'll have to come from the sides._ He glanced at his watch. _11:17 pm._ He looked back up through the window.

Daniel caught the flash of the silver pistol tucked away in its holster at the gangster's side, and a second later a lucario walked into view holding a small glass with an amber liquid in its paws. It offered the drink to its trainer and then turned to look directly at Daniel.

The two locked eyes for what felt like a long while. The lucario furrowed its brow several times, and the ghost of an aura appeared at its paws before fading away and then springing to life again, but it seemed to not know if Daniel was friendly or not. Daniel cracked the door and pulled the pin from a smoke grenade free before rolling it across the floor at the lucario. It looked, if possible, even more confused and watched the grenade slide across the floor towards it.

"Bad idea," Daniel muttered. With a loud _pop_ , the grenade went off and began issuing white smoke. He kicked the door open to the sound of the pop and fired three shots at the lucario, striking it in the chest, neck and cheek, before swinging his aim to the gangster. The man had just enough time to drop his cellphone and reach for his gun before Daniel placed three rounds into his side, chest and arm.

He strained his ears to pinpoint where most of the commotion came from - easier said than done given how much they were ringing from firing in a stairwell, and wagered the bulk of the forces were coming from the right. He ran to the right, tugging another smoke grenade free and tossing it into the room, then pulling another and dropping it at his feet.

He leaned out and was greeted by the seven or so men rushing towards him in a confused panic, half of them accompanied by machoke, arbok or hypno. Some were struggling to stand up after falling over backwards in their chairs, while others tripped over those that had fallen over. His finger flipped the fire selector to automatic, and he dumped the magazine into the crowd.

"HE'S ON THE RIGHT!" rang in his ears over the sounds of men and pokemon bellowing in pain and screaming for help as he fell back to the stairwell to reload.

He remembered immediately after that reinforcements would be coming from above if they managed to get past Charles and Eve, and so, he swore loudly and bolted out into the now thickening smoke and fired in bursts at the amorphous blobs that he could make out in the haze, this time with his pistol. This earned him shouts of confusion and people screaming questions about how many were attacking them, much to his delight.

Something punched him in his back and he fell forward with a shout of pain. The force wasn't what he knew a rifle round felt like, at least. It didn't _feel_ like the bullet had punched through the plate or cracked any vertebrae either, but he didn't want to risk another shot to his back again. He collected his pistol and scurried on all fours towards a large planter he could just barely make out in the smoke. Bullets cracked into the plaster along the entire length of the wall above and showered him with bits of it every so often. Loud pings of bullets striking the metal elevator doors filled the hallway, and the ringing in his ears became more intense. Of all the things to forget, it had to be earplugs.

A shout of pain and a demand to check fire made its way through the din, and Daniel grinned in spite of himself. They were shooting too recklessly at some unknown force that they hadn't pinpointed. _Not a bad idea._ He held his gun out from behind the planter and sprayed bursts of fire into the left hand entryway until the magazine went dry. This earned him a single shout of pain and a cry of, "NO, NO, HE'S ON THE LEFT!"

"HOW MANY ARE THERE?"

"CAN'T SEE SHIT!"

"SOMEONE FUCKING _HELP ME!_ "

Bullets began to slam randomly into the planter as the gangsters returned fire, and Daniel knew it wouldn't be long before his cover completely fell apart as the ceramic chipped and broke away and let the dirt run free. He pulled his last remaining smoke grenade from his vest and took a deep breath. It was difficult - the smoke had begun to become choking, and given the relative lack of coughing coming from the gangsters, it hadn't pushed too far into the office. He pulled the pin and tossed it into the office proper, and with a nearly inaudible pop, it began to fill the rest of the floor with yellow smoke.

He leaned out from his planter and began to aggressively return fire to buy himself enough time to let the smoke fill the office. He dropped several rounds down into the office and then turned to aim down the hallway and squeezed off a few more. Two magazines later he loaded his penultimate into his rifle and then got up into a partial hunch, then let the rifle hang and drew his pistol. _Good thing Ana's not here to see this brilliant fucking tactic._ He took off at a dead sprint towards the gangsters, barely registering the shapes he ran past, some of them splayed out.

"THE FUCK WAS THAT?"

"THEY GOT PAST US, TURN AROUND!"

"THERE'S FUCKING SMOKE EVERYWHERE."

"FUCK, PLEASE, I'M BLEEDING OUT. HELP!"

The moment the smoke began to thin, he dove behind an overturned, thick wooden table and saw a bloody mess of a man propped against it. A nasty wound just above his left clavicle and another in his left pectoral explained the dead stare into oblivion upon his face. Just past him he saw a machoke laying on its back, its arms clutching at its stomach and groaning softly as a pool of blood inched its way towards the man beside Daniel.

He holstered his pistol and brought his rifle to bear, then peeked out from behind the table and fired several bursts at the more sharply defined blobs in the yellow haze. Several of them fell over immediately, some screaming and others with nothing but a short gag. The few remaining spun about and fired wildly in his direction, splintering the wood of the overturned table, striking glass and plaster somewhere behind him and kicking dust up as bullets struck the ground. He dove into the open door nearby and scrambled behind a heavy wooden desk sitting inside a small office.

Daniel slammed the last magazine for his rifle home and swore to himself. _Eve and Charles better clear that fucking floor out. I'm not clearing it on just pistol rounds._ He flipped his gun back to semi-auto and peeked around the desk. Four shapes began to form into panting, terrified looking gangsters. One of them glanced down at the machoke and sighed. There was a loud _bang_ , and the machoke stopped squirming.

The sounds of groans, screams, coughs and cries finally reached Daniel's ears as he watched the men peer about, looking for him.

"Where the fuck did he go?"

"Someone fucking help Roland."

"I'm not a gods damned doctor."

"Roland! Roland, where the hell are you, I can't see shit!"

There was a long silence, and several pleas for help and a few more coughs as the smoke choked the lungs of those still conscious, but a moment later, one of them stepped towards Daniel's office and swore. "He's gone." He turned back to face the rest of his comrades and began, "Sweep these off-"

Daniel rose from behind the desk and fired at the four men. Shouts and screams filled the air and as the first three fell and the fourth took several shots to the stomach. A short spray of submachine gun fire hit a myriad of objects in the office Daniel was standing in. He felt a round connect square in his chest and it sent him reeling backwards into a bookcase.

Thick, heavy books came down upon his head and left stars winking in his eyes, and somewhere far away beyond the ringing in his ears he could hear men groaning and crying out. He shook his head and rubbed a sore spot atop it and moaned. He got to his feet and pulled his pistol free again, then strained his ringing ears to listen for feet stomping towards him from upstairs.

He frowned. _Had Charles and Eve done it?_ He didn't have time to guess - there was still the 40th floor to clear. He made his way towards the stairwell, his gun at the ready and passed over twitching and moaning bodies. The weakly stirring body of an arbok was splayed out near the elevator, a long trail of blood in its wake, and its massive bulk blocked the door to the stairwell. The cobra expended what looked like a great deal of effort to glare up at Daniel, and it began to open its mouth, its fangs bared. A pistol shot rang out and the pokemon fell to the floor dead, a hole between its eyes now oozing blood.

With a quick glance around to check for any other twitching bodies or possibly someone playing dead, Daniel slipped into the stairwell and started climbing. He checked his watch. _11:21pm._

* * *

Charles landed with a harsh screeching sound as his feet scratched across the tile floor. He pushed his momentum into an about face and sprung at a machoke's midsection. The rippling muscles and tough skin proved a poor shield against the blades upon his forearms. The cuts were not deep - enough to bleed, but not disembowel. The machoke fell to a knee, clutching its wound and bellowed in pain.

Nearby, his trainer looked around with wild fear alive in his eyes and fired his pistol blindly towards Charles.

The bisharp was already on the move, however, sprinting towards the man and dropped into a slide to collide with his knees. With a loud thump, the man fell face first onto the ground and laid still.

Charles got to his feet, panting, and looked about the room. Unconscious gangsters and pokemon alike littered the room. Tables were overturned and chairs were crumpled against walls and doors as the men had thrown them wildly at wherever they believed the invisible duo to be launching their attacks from.

He turned his attention to the bisharp that had been tracking Charles' own movements far too well. Could it see him? Hear him? His eyes flicked across the entire room once. Ghosts? Something else perhaps? He grimaced and sprinted off towards it, and drew his fist back and readied a punch for its jaw. Whatever it was, it had stayed out of the fight so far…

The enemy bisharp ducked the punch and threw one of its own directly at Charles' stomach. He went flying backwards, and Eve swore.

" **Don't get hit! If I fly off of you, you're dead!"** she hissed as the world around her flipped end over end as Charles attempted to right himself in midair.

With a groan, Charles landed and dropped to a knee, rubbing his stomach. What he imagined was the bisharp's owner looked to have lost his nerve as he surveyed the unconscious men and pokemon strewn about. He shouted, "You're on your own, Urich!"

As the man attempted to spring past Charles, he held his leg out and tripped the gangster, sending him into a nearby bookcase, against which he crumpled and laid still.

Charles grumbled, " **Shut up. Do not let go."** The zoroark on his back seemed to struggle with choosing between scoffing, beginning a furious rebuttal and sighing, but ultimately settled on the latter of the three.

Carefully and deliberately, Charles inched his way towards the bisharp and nearly kicked himself as he drew close enough to see its face. " **Of course. Blind."**

Urich looked towards Charles with milky eyes and smirked. " **Surprise."** In a flash, Urich was upon Charles. The zoroark-laden bisharp raised his arms to block, but instead felt a foot sweep his leg out from under him. A second later, a punch collided with his stomach against and sent him into the ground.

Charles could hear Eve whimpering and sniffling in his ear as she attempted to hold back her cry of pain. He might have actually cut her. He rolled onto his hands and legs and launched himself away from the bisharp towards the only undisturbed table. With a harsh whisper, he muttered, " **Get on table. Stay there. Stay quiet. Wait for signal. Are you hurt?"**

Eve dismounted, becoming visible as she did, and sat upon the table. She ran her hands against her stomach and chest - as far as Charles could see, there were no wet patches of blood-soaked fur. She looked up at him and shook her head, whispering, " **I'm ok, I'm ok. Did you say he was** _ **blind?**_ "

Charles clutched the side of his head as a horrible screeching sound met his ears. He wheeled about in time to see Urich sprinting at him, roaring, " **CANNOT HIDE."**

The world began to spin about and with a loud crash, Charles flew head first through the glass window of an office and slammed onto the desk, sending monitors, phones and stacks of papers flying into the air. Another screech of grinding metal met his ears and he looked up from the desk he laid upon to see Urich jump up and land on the windowsill. " **Cannot see. Faster for it."**

The desk crumpled into splinters as Charles watched Urich drive his fist into it from above. He had only just managed to roll off the desk and out of the office. Panting, he shouted, " **Can see. Better for it."**

Urich got to his feet and snarled in Charles' direction. Another screech of metal grinding against metal hit his ears, but this time Charles was ready. Right as Urich opened his mouth to shout, he launched himself towards the bisharp and drove his fist into his jaw. He dropped low and swept Urich's legs out from under him and then kicked him against the back of wall of the office.

Another screech and Charles felt a hand seize his leg and yank the world out from under him. Urich jumped upon him and began to slug him across the face with one punch after the other, sending his head whipping sharply back and forth. Charles blinked stars from his eyes and held a hand up in a daze to catch Urich's fist. A mass of energy slammed into the bisharp's head and sent him toppling off his body.

Charles kipped up, wobbled a moment, then caught his balance and turned to face Urich. The milky-eyed bisharp bore a snarl on his face and looked vaguely in the direction Eve had thrown the blob of dark energy. Charles connected with his midsection a moment later and tackled Urich to the ground, then drew his arm up and brought a stiff chop down into the center of Urich's face. There was a loud crack and the groaning of tearing metal, and the bisharp laid still.

Panting, Charles got to his feet and rubbed his cheeks and stomach before looking over to Evelynn. " **Alright?"**

The zoroark looked back with an expression that bore equal parts worry and fear and nodded. " **Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine."** She composed herself and strode over to him - Charles noted the exaggerated sway in her hips and swagger in her demeanor and shook his head. " **Looks like I saved your ass, huh?"**

The bisharp looked down at his opponent for a moment and then rolled his neck and sighed. " **I can smell the fear coming off your body."** He stretched his arms and legs and then turned to Eve. " **No need for the act."**

" **Excuse me, I'm just fi-"** Evelynn stopped abruptly and her eyes went wide. " **I don't hear anything coming from downstairs."** Charles sprinted to the stairwell without so much as a look back.

He had barely made it into the stairwell proper when he saw Daniel, pistol raised, stalking up the stairs. His trainer looked back at him with a smile and said, "Work just as fast as I do, eh?" Charles smirked, and fell in behind Daniel.

From the door to the stairwell a voice said, "The foam was a good idea." Charles looked over at Evelynn, standing in her typical human form with her arms cross and a small pout on her face.

"Was it now? I thought you said it looked ridiculous," replied Daniel.

"It did. But it was a good idea. Let's go."

* * *

Daniel stepped out onto the 40th floor and frowned. Nothing but a long hallway that led to a set of polished mahogany double doors awaited him. If anyone was going to be defending the files he had to destroy, they would be holed up beyond those doors. He sidled up to the door and gestured for Charles and Eve to stack up on the other side. He gave the bisharp a nod, and the two kicked the door in simultaneously, revealing a lavish office. Gleaming walnut floors led up to a massive black granite desk and plush leather chair. Bookshelves, paintings and various pieces of historical arms and armor lined the walls, and a soft rug trailed from the desk to the doors.

A head peeked over the desk and then a rifle came into view and sprayed bullets down the hallway towards them. Daniel got back into cover and swore loudly. "Hop up on Charles again Eve. Get in there."

The zoroark crossed her arms. "His protectors have fallen off. I'm going to get cut up," she huffed.

With a groan, Daniel pulled his tactical vest off and tossed it at her. "Put that on. It'll do the job." Eve did as she was told and jumped on Charles' back once again. She looked to Daniel and nodded.

"On three then," he called out over the din. He fired his pistol blindly into the room and shouted, "Three!" He peeked back into the room and fired the rest of his magazine into the room before pulling back and reloading. He hoped the meager covering fire would be enough for the two pokemon to get close enough to whoever was behind the desk to stop him. He counted to ten in his head and then chanced a peek into the room. He saw the figure behind the desk lifted into the air and thrown across the room towards Daniel.

He rushed into the room and pointed his pistol at the man before him as he struggled to his feet. He was dressed in a wrinkled suit and a light magazine carrier, and the look he gave Daniel as his eyes flicked from his pistol to his face was full of fear. _Good. Should be easy enough to find out what's going on._

"Alright, hands where I can see them. Now," he commanded. The gangster complied at once. "Good. Now, where the fuck do you keep records for all your trans- oh fuck it. Where the hell did you stick the documents for the purchase of suicune?"

The man went white. "Wh-what? How do you know about that?" He yelped and backed away several paces when Daniel responded by firing at his feet.

"Questions come from me. Where the fuck did you put that glorified receipt?" commanded Daniel, aiming his pistol menacingly at the man's shins.

The man looked over his shoulder and pointed at the desk. "We've got it saved. I can get you a print out. A-A digital copy, whatever you want just… please. Just take it and go."

Daniel shoved him forward. "Get fucking moving then," he barked. "No funny shit, you hear me?"

The man nodded and made his way to the desk. He eyed Charles and Eve uneasily and then looked to Daniel. "Why were they invisible?" The detective replied by leveling his pistol at the man's head and clearing his throat. With a cry of panic, he began to tap away at the keyboard on the desk and clicked his way through folder after folder filled with documents.

"Surprised you actually keep such extensive records," mumbled Daniel, scanning the names of the documents that whizzed past the gangster scrolled through folders.

"Got it, got it. Here let me load this onto a thumb drive…" He pulled open a drawer and dug around inside it, then turned suddenly towards Daniel and thrust a knife at him.

Daniel dropped his pistol and caught the man's wrist. He grit his teeth as he felt the blade cut across his palm. He was only just fast enough. The two lapsed into a struggle over the blade while Charles and Evelynn looked on, unsure how to engage.

"Guess you're the signal!" roared Daniel. He drove a foot down into the man's instep to the sound of a loud crunch and crack. The gangster dropped the knife and began to scream in pain, but it caught in his throat as Daniel brought his hand to it. He forced the man back towards the nearby window, then lifted him and slammed his against it. The degree to which it cracked left Daniel wondering how many of his bullets had struck it. He slammed the assailant against it again, and the cracking grew more pronounced.

The man shook his head insistently at Daniel, his hands futilely groping at Daniel's hand, trying to wrench it free from his throat. With a shout, the detective drove the man into the glass one more time, breaking it completely and releasing him as the window gave way. The scream of terror faded away quickly and Daniel turned back to Eve and Charles. The two gawked at him with terrified looks plastered on their faces as Daniel turned to the computer and began to root about for record of the transaction for suicune. It took several minutes, but after changing his search term from "suicune" to "northern wind", a series of communications with an unknown third party came up. None of them actually were a record of a transaction, just talks discussing prices. The final document, however, had a short alphanumeric string: C-B4.

"The hell does…" Daniel looked around the room and spotted a series of metal filing cabinets tucked side by side between two bookshelves. He strode over to them and each drawer was labeled horizontally and vertically using sequential letters. "C-B4… there it is." He tugged the drawer open and began to leaf through the documents filed away inside.

"Was that- was that necessary?" asked Evelynn somewhere behind him.

Daniel tossed a stack of papers onto the cabinet and pulled a fresh stack out. "What? Yes. He pulled a knife on me." He didn't look up from the papers as he continued, "Don't fucking pull a knife on me like I'm not going to fucking kill you for it." He tugged several papers free and let out a cry of triumph. "Got them. We'll be holding onto these. Hopefully there aren't any copies."

"But to throw him out a window?" pressed the disguised zoroark, stepping towards him.

Daniel turned towards her, a thin frown on his face and his brows knit. "What do you fuckin' suggest? That I just disarm him? He was scum of the earth, and he got treated as such. Shit ain't hard to understand. Tell her, Charles." He glanced at the bisharp as he folded the documents up and gestured for Eve to give him back his plate carrier.

The bisharp stared back at his trainer for a long while before shaking his head and turning his attention to the open double doors at the other end of the room.

"What? Don't tell me you think I should've been soft on him, Charles. He was trying to fucking kill me," insisted Daniel. His pokemon glanced back at him and gave him a curt nod, but turned his attention back to the entryway immediately after.

"Fuck it, no time to discuss this here. We'll sort this shit on the helo," decided Daniel. He tucked the folded papers into the large cargo pocket on his pants and pulled the carrier back on. "Get to the roof. I'll be up shortly. Gotta take care of something first." He dug around in his pocket and pulled a lighter free.

With a sigh, Evelynn followed after Charles as the bisharp gave Daniel another curt nod and set off without a word.

Daniel opened each of the drawers, pulling a paper free each time, lighting it on fire and dropping it back into the drawer afterwards. Once he'd dropped a burning paper into each of the drawers in the filing cabinets, he returned to the desk and tugged the computer tower sitting in a small cubby free, yanking wires out indiscriminately before laying the tower across the table and pulling one of the sides off. He tugged the solid state drive from it free by undoing a few screws with the multi-tool he had tucked away in his vest. He slipped the drive into the same pocket he kept the papers in and made his way towards the helipad.

Halfway up the stairwell towards the pad, the fire alarm began to ring, and he started to take the steps two at a time. He emerged on the roof in time to see a transport helicopter descending on the pad and the pilot waving at the trio. It had not properly touched down before Daniel was already inside, sitting down in the front beside the pilot.

There was a short, awkward pause between the pilot and Daniel as Evelynn and Charles got into the helicopter and closed the sliding doors, and as they pulled away the pilot cleared his throat and said shakily, "So, uh, I guess, uh…"

Daniel looked out at the glittering lights of Unova shrinking below him as the helicopter ascended. "Yeah. I wasn't kidding about the signal."


	4. Tango Uniform

Daniel rubbed his face and glanced out of the cockpit window. "What the fuck was that back there, Charles?" He turned about in his seat and glanced into the cavernous rear of the copter. The jeep stored in the transport rocked slightly to and fro, straining against the straps that bound it in place. He saw his bisharp pull on a strap and sigh then turned to face him.

The series of grunts that growls that followed were incomprehensible, and yet, combined with the intermittent sighs, the tired look on his friend's face, and the occasional gesturing directly at Daniel and then out of the helicopter towards their destination, he understood. Somewhat.

"What, you think I was too harsh on that fuckface back there?" asked Daniel, incredulous.

Eve, who had remained silent until now, shuddered and drew her hands to her shoulders as she shapeshifted into her meek red-headed self, inching away from Daniel a bit as she said, "Yes. And I'm pretty sure he doesn't think, I'm pretty sure he _knows_. As do I. What was that other than pure brutality? Was it really necessary?"

"Have to agree with the lady." added the pilot, glancing at Daniel for a moment. "A flare would have been fine."

"You get back to fucking piloting, I didn't ask for your gods damned opinion." snapped Daniel before turning to face Eve and Charles again. "Of course it was necessary. That motherfucker was going to kill me. You'd rather I play nice and let all of us get fucked up?" He pointed at the disguised zoroark and narrowed his eyes, "Because they're got a special place for your kind if he'd gotten the better of me and Charles. There's a whole fucking region that's just waiting for something like you to roll along."

The zoroark grimaced and tried to sink into her seat, her human form dissolving away back into her actual body. A low whine and short series of growls met Daniel's ears and he shook his head. "That's what I thought." He watched Charles sit back in his seat and closed his eyes and added, "Nothing more to say?"

The bisharp opened a single eye and looked towards Daniel. A single grunt sounded out over the din of the helicopter and he pointed vaguely in the direction of their destination before closing his eye again and seemingly drifting off to sleep.

The detective turned about in his chair and pulled his headset back on and frowned. _Brutal? Really? Fucking fox is giving Charles cold feet. Or something. I know gunshots aren't exactly subtle or gracious, but outright brutal? He's sliced thugs in half without a second thought before, why choose now to get all morally conscious? What changed?_ He sat up in his seat and began to swap the armor plates out of his rig, his mind still pacing. _Maybe it isn't Eve. He was like this before. Back in Lumiose. What changed there-_ A loud, insistent beeping filled the cockpit alongside the sounds of cracking glass and dull thuds.

"Are we being fucking shot at?"

The pilot wrenched the flightstick to the right and then the left, sending the helicopter rocking back and forth. Behind him, over the din, Daniel heard an ominous snap as one of the restraints on the jeep broke.

In frenzied disbelief, the pilot shouted back, "What do you think?" He pushed the helicopter into a dive and the canopy of trees below them came dangerously close. More gunfire racked the fuselage and shattered one of the windows completely, inviting a rush of howling wind into the cockpit as the chopper streaked through the sky. Several more cracks and thuds echoed in the compartment as fresh holes opened around their feet and exploded open in the ceiling. The heli rolled hard to the right and the insistent beeping coming from the instrument panel told Daniel the maneuver was ill advised. The turbulence rolling through the vehicle as it groaned and strained to right itself brought with it another ominous snap from the rear compartment, along with alarmed shouts from Charles and a cry of fear from Eve.

"Can't you put us down somewhere?" shouted Daniel over the din. Sparks crackled out of the instrument panel before him and smoke began to issue from it.

"Do you not see all these fucking trees?" cried the pilot. "This bird ain't meant to crash into them!"

"We're gonna fucking die up here!" he screamed back. He glanced around, his eyes straining to look past the canopy that was growing closer to their underside with each second. "There!" He gestured furiously at a clearing they could just begin to make out. "Put us down there!"

"We're still being shot at!" A loud sputter, a groan and a clang filled the cockpit. "Fuck!" More crackles of electricity and several red lights began to flash in the cockpit, and a constant _woop-woop_ sprang to life over the din. "Got an engine down, we'll be lucky if we make it that fa-"

Several bullets tore through the floor and the pilot began to convulse in his chair as gunfire peppered his legs and rear. Several rounds burst out of his chest and he slumped forward onto the flightstick and pushed the heli into a nosedive towards the ground. The _woop-woop_ in the cockpit almost immediately doubled in speed and Daniel threw himself towards the now lifeless pilot and pushed him off the stick, then wrenched it back. The nose of the craft began to pull up and he heard loud thumps and cracks alongside groans of metal and the snapping of branches as the helo tore through the canopy of the wood below. The controls stiffened in his hands and then the entire aircraft began to pitch about. A loud terrible groan of metal shearing apart rang throughout the cockpit and then a rush of air greeted Daniel. The roar of the motor was replaced with the howl of wind.

He snapped his restraints on and screamed back, "WHAT THE FUCK-" His jaw dropped at the sight of a tremendous hole in the craft. The rotors, the motor attached to them, along with perhaps half of the ceiling had been torn completely away. He saw Eve and Charles both clinging desperately to the handlebars on their seats. _This was it_ , he thought helplessly, _This is how we die._ Something hit the side of the helicopter and they began to spin like a bullet through the forest. He heard more heavy-duty restraints snap. _How many did the jeep even have left?_ He shouted, partially in fear, partially in anger, and largely because he felt there was nothing left to do but.

The sounds around him disappeared and he turned back to look out of the cockpit window in had made it through the forest. There was the clearing. And there was the ground.

* * *

Something warm and fuzzy had hold of his face. It tickled his nose and smelled familiar. _Nuvema Single-Malt Whiskey. Haven't had that in forever…_ He could picture the shot glass filled with the amber liquid perfectly. It burned going down and had an aftertaste to match. Reminded him of the kind of smoky taste you got from meat fired over maplewood. But it tasted like caramel. Sweet, silky caramel. Charles hated it too, strangely enough. The fuzzy feeling on his face shook his head too and fro, and then he felt his entire body being shaken. Someone was shouting - no, _growling and yipping_. The smell of burning fuel overtook the smell of whiskey in an instant, and then his eyes flew open.

He sat bolt upright and hit his head against something fuzzy again, and was met with a loud yelp of pain and an incomprehensible growl. Eve's form came into focus in front of him and beyond her he could see Charles cutting the last of the restraints loose from the jeep. "Sorry, I'm up. I'm up. Why the fuck are you still a fox?" groaned Daniel, getting to his feet.

Eve held a hand up to Daniel and pointed at it insistently. Her fingers were shaking.

"Shock?"

The zoroark nodded once and then pointed at the jeep. An inquisitive growl met his ears and Daniel began to dig around in his pockets. "Yeah, keys are here somewhere. This thing take any hits?"

An indistinct grunt came from Charles. It was clear neither of the pokemon were sure. "We can check later." He pulled his vest on and pulled his rifle and ammunition free from a compartment in the wall of the helicopter. "Thank the gods this shit didn't get torn out." He tossed the ammo crates into the back of the jeep and gestured for the pokemon to get in.

"Let's get going. If we're leaking oil or gas we'll know soon enough." He wrenched the door to the jeep open and buckled himself in, then thrust the key into the ignition and turned the engine over. It purred to life without issue and he breathed a sigh of relief. "At least one fucking thing went right." He backed the jeep out of the ruined backend of the helicopter. The vehicle rocked about as it rolled across uneven terrain and torn metal alike, then peeled out and shot off into the open plains before Daniel.

He took several deep breaths and then looked at Eve, who morphed into a pale, thin redhead with lank hair. Dark circles sat beneath her eyes and the deep red in her cheeks betrayed an intense discomfort. She turned to Daniel and gaped at him, her mouth opening and closing soundlessly before she took a deep breath and then struggled out, "What the fuck even just happened?"

"Sounds like your girlfriend's never survived a helo crash, eh, Charles?" asked Daniel, turning back to look at Charles for a moment with a smirk. The bisharp rolled his eyes and looked out at the passing scenery.

"Oh, like you deal with this shit on a daily basis, huh?" she replied, firing up at once.

"I get shot at with some frequency, so yeah, I'd say helo crashes aren't too big a deal," reasoned Daniel. He glanced behind him to check for any pursuers. "You'd think we'd have someone on our tail. Doesn't seem like anyone gives a fuck though." He threw Eve a sideways glance before looking back at the expanse of gently rolling grass before him. "Didn't expect shock to be that much of a problem for you."

"We almost _died_ , what did you think would happen? It's hard to focus when you've got _the end_ waved in front of your face like it was back there," huffed Eve. She sat back in her seat, her arms crossed and her face set into a frown. "Not something I'm really happy about getting to know."

"Get used to it." His tone was gruff, perhaps even harsh, but it was the truth. "You were already in the shit once back in that building with Charles. It's not gettin' any easier from here out."

"I've been deeper "in the shit" than you think, Daniel." The zoroark fell silent, morphing back into her usual form and gazed out the window.

For a moment, the detective drummed his fingers on the steering wheel and then shrugged. "Alright, what?"

The zoroark turned to look at him and raised an eyebrow.

"What kind of shit? Let's hear that pedigree of yours. Maybe it'll make me feel less uneasy about bringing you along."

Eve shook her head once and looked back out the window. Out of the corner of his eyes, Daniel saw her draw her mane of hair across her lap and fiddle with the golden ring she had looped it through. He made an indistinct noise in his throat and stared ahead. _No use pursuing that topic for now._ His eyes flicked to the rearview mirror and then back through the windshield. _Where the hell are our tails? No one's interested in investigating a helicopter crash? They were all too fuckin' happy to blow us out of the gods damned sky a minute ago. Something has to be going on…_ He fished about in his pocket for his phone and dialed Hideo.

A voice in his ear coughed once and then rasped, "Daniel?"

"Where the fuck am I even going? There's an awful lot of fuck all in this preserve you sent me off to. Trees, flat lands, soft hills… anything distinguishing I can follow along? Any rivers moving north/south or east/west?"

There was a pause and then the voice on the other end of the line said, his tone unsure, "Well, I believe there's a sizable river that runs from the east to the west you could follow. If I'm not mistaken, Morrissey had a retreat of sorts near the edge of his territory..."

Daniel glanced at the compass readout on the dashboard. _North by northwest._ "I don't remember flying past one, but given the rough landing, maybe it's possible that we passed by it… Would the river appear on a map?"

"Er, probably, yes, but did you say rough landing?" asked Hideo, his voice tense.

"Yeah. Might want to call that bastard's missus, if he has one. Give her my condolences. And sorry about your helo."

"Wait, what happened?"

"Gotta go, dangerous to split my attention any more than I already have." Daniel hung up and tucked his phone away, then said to the two pokemon in the jeep, "Keep your eyes open for a river. We'll try to use that for navigation." The jeep crested a hill and then began to speed down towards a patch of land bearing a wide strip of rocky soil, darker and looser than the rest and bearing the unmistakable signs of a river. "What the fuck happened here?"

He threw the jeep into park and dismounted, his rifle at the ready and his head swiveling about. There was little substantial vegetation here apart from the somewhat tall grass. He crept closer to the riverbank and knelt down to pick a few rocks from what was once a riverbed. They were mostly dry, though a few further down were moist, even wet.

"The river's just...gone." He turned back to Eve and Charles, his face plastered with confusion. "What the hell happened?"

Evelynn walked over and crouched down, morphing into her usual human form as she did. She picked through a few of the rocks and then shrugged. "I don't know. There's supposed to be a river here right? It looks like this was a river… Why dry out a river?"

"Whatever the reason is," replied Daniel, standing up, "doesn't matter right now. We'll follow this and see if we hit the retreat. If we don't, we'll just turn around and follow it to the other side.

* * *

Morrissey tilted the brim of his hat down to shield his eyes and smiled down at the weakly growling dog glaring back at him from her cage. "Beautiful. Absolutely beautiful." He made his way down a short flight of stairs and strode up to the cage to look Suicune in the eyes. "You're gonna look fucking magnificent after I stuff you. Was thinking a dead sprint, really sell the whole "northern wind" angle, you know? Should set off the whole room nicely." He straightened up and signaled to an attendant to open up the sliding gate to the room. "Get her loaded up and drive her into the center." He turned his attention back to Suicune and smirked. "You're gonna get one hour to try to hide. Maybe a little less if you don't get those tranquilizers processed fast enough" Morrissey licked his lips and snapped his fingers.

A small crane arm lifted the cage up and loaded it onto a waiting truck. A second later, its engine roared to life and the smell of exhaust burned Morrissey's nose. He tapped three times on the bed of the truck and gestured for the truck to move out. As it pulled away he shouted at the retreating vehicle bearing his quarry, " _Try_ is the operative word here!"

"Sir, I have some urgent news for you," came voice next to Morrissey. The gang leader turned, the expression upon his face matching the disinterest in his voice. "Uh, we caught sight of a helicopter crossing into your airspace. Transport helicopter. Didn't reply to our hails, so we've been trying to shoot it out of the sky."

"And? Why the fuck does this matter? Blow it up and leave the bodies for the fire like you always would. Why even bother telling me this garbage?"

The henchman averted his eyes and stammered out, "W-well s-sir, it's because the helicopter is the same one that was reported as leaving your tower after that attack on it."

"Then the retard that thought picking a fight with Dylan Fucking Morrissey is the key to a long life is now bringing himself to my own private piece of land to be fed his fucking balls, isn't he? Blow the fucking helicopter out of the sky and devote a small team to finding and capturing him. Nothing bigger than ten men. I want everyone else on the borders making sure my prize doesn't try anything fancy."

"R-right away sir. I'll get men on the task at once."

As the man retreated away, Morrissey turned to another and barked, "Get the jeep fueled and extra ammo packed away. This is gonna be the longest gods damned hour of my life."


	5. Obfuscation

Daniel stared over the hood of his jeep, into the horizon. "Low cover if we just follow this river but it'll be faster. More risk of being ambushed. Harder to evade pursuers…" He set the jeep into drive and sped along the riverbank, the sound of crushing wet gravel ringing out over the purr of the engine. "But we've gotta find Morrissey as fast as we can. Means we gotta take risks." He glanced over at Eve and then back at Charles. "You two understand that?"

Charles grunted once in affirmation, while Evelynn nodded, then sat up with a start. Her ear twitched and she turned in her seat to look out behind the jeep.

"Something up?" asked Daniel.

As she turned back around, morphing into a human all the while, she shook her head. "No, I don't think so. I think…I _thought_ I heard something." She turned back around in her seat and leaned in close towards Charles. "Did _you_ hear something?"

There was a pause and then Daniel heard the bisharp mumble something incomprehensible.

"Well then maybe I'm not crazy, maybe I did hear something." She turned back around and pointed ahead, into the distance. "Pick it up, we might have someone following us."

Daniel pushed down on the accelerator and the sound of gravel kicking up underneath the car intensified. "Surprised you can hear shit over this racket."

Evelynn drew her knees to her chest and hugged them. "Had to get good at picking out sound in a busy city. Pretty vital skill I thi-" Cracks exploded in the air around them and the zoroark ducked her head down immediately.

Insistent shouts from the backseat, several loud dings, and the sound of a bullet ricocheting extremely close by his ear made Daniel hunch over in his seat and push down further on the accelerator. He whipped his head about and stared back at his pursuers. Two ATVs were in pursuit. As he turned to face forward again, he caught something out of the corner of his eye and looked to the left. A third ATV crested the hillside and was now speeding towards him. With a grimace he pulled his pistol free from his vest and pointed it at the approaching ATV. He fired twice and tried to steady wrist against his arm before firing again.

"Can you drive?" shouted Daniel, turning to face Eve before turning back to face the ATV and firing several more shots.

Evelynn's eyes went wide and she nodded vaguely. "Uh, I mean, sort of? I've pretended to know how to drive before for a job I had to do, but I didn't really-"

"YES OR FUCKING NO?" shouted Daniel, cutting her off. He turned back and fired at their pursuers again, until the slide of his handgun locked open and he swore loudly. The fire was enough to make the passenger on the approaching ATV duck his head for a moment before bringing a rifle to bear and firing at Daniel's jeep. Several cracks and dings rang out as bullets riddled the doors of the jeep and he swerved hard into the riverbank. With a roar of anger, Daniel holstered his pistol and pulled his rifle free, then shouted at Eve, "FUCK IT, JUST TAKE THE FUCKING WHEEL!" He turned in his seat, his rifle poorly shouldered and squeezed off several rounds.

The passenger on the ATV shouted in fear as a plume of blood exploded out of the chest of the driver. The vehicle swerved hard to the left as the driver clutched at the bleeding chest wound before bouncing off a mound and flipping over. Daniel jumped from the driver seat to the back seat and rested his gun against the back of the jeep. It rattled up and down, left and right, but it was far more stable than trying to hold it aloft. He fired in short bursts at the approaching ATVs, though his shots outright missed or succeeded only in kicking up dust. Several clicks sounded from the weapon and with a groan of frustration, he reloaded as several more bullets struck the gravel around them and pinged parts of the jeep.

This time one of the ATVs locked into a hard rightward turn and veered off. Whatever it was he'd struck, it had disabled the vehicle for now. He turned his attention to the other ATV, got to his knees in the back seat and fired with more impunity, praying volume might scare the driver enough to let them get more distance. He kicked up a considerable amount of dust, obscuring the ATV from view.

The din of him firing drowned out the cracks and whizzes and dings as return fire slammed into the jeep, and then the wind was knocked out of him as a round collided firmly with his chest. He fell hard against the back of the driver's seat, coughing and groaning, and felt underneath his rig. _No blood._ He could see holes in the backseat, many dangerously close to where he'd been kneeling and, against his better judgement, climbed back onto the seat and peered back at their pursuers, his rifle ready.

They were gone.

With a sigh of relief and another cough, he looked down at Charles, who clutched at his shoulder with a grimace. "You okay?"

The bisharp moved his hand away to reveal a bullet that had partially lodged itself in the armor plating on his shoulder. He snarled in frustration and discomfort, but nodded his head nevertheless.

"Hang in there, I'll get it dug out in a minute," he said bracingly. He turned back to face the front of the jeep. "Gotta say, nice driving the-" He cut his sentence short as he looked down and saw Evelynn hunched over, her entire body trembling and shifting continuously from human-shape to zoroark. She was clutching at her side and whimpering.

"Move over, now. I'm pulling us into a forest. Move, move, even if it hurts, just keep pressure on it. Move," ordered Daniel. He got into the driver's seat and saw Eve's illusion collapse into a zoroark proper. Her form flickered again, but into what, he couldn't tell. He focused his attention on the road and turned off into the nearby forest.

Daniel rummaged in his first aid kit and pulled a pair of surgical pliers free from their plastic wrapping. Charles held the fur on Eve's body around the wound apart, revealing the bullet lodged an inch deep in her side. Blood flowed freely from the hole, though Daniel noticed that it failed to stain the fur around it. He pushed it from his mind for the moment. "Alright, breathe in, then breathe out, 'cos this is going to fucking hurt." He delicately inserted the pliers into the wound and then patted the zoroark once on the back. "Ready?"

Evelynn stared up at Charles and whimpered something unintelligible to him. With a sigh, the bisharp nodded and clamped a gauntleted fist around the zoroark's mouth. He looked up at Daniel and nodded once.

At that, Daniel opened the pliers and pushed the walls of the wound slightly apart, then dug them in to grasp the bullet and began to pull the deformed piece of metal free. Eve wriggled mutely beneath him, shivering more intensely and kicking her legs with increasing force until, all at once, her entire body flickered and left an entirely different looking Eve laying in front of Daniel. The smooth, sleek fur on her body remained, though it had changed from a solid black to an ashen gradient, starting black at her head and ending a pale grey towards her legs. Large, hairless scars covered her body, her back in particular featuring a series of randomly criss-crossing cuts, some large, some small, all of them decidedly old. The fur around her gunshot wound was properly dark now, a sharp contrast to its previously sleek and clean nature.

Daniel pulled the bullet free and tossed it aside, then pulled a needle and sutures out of the kit. "You mind telling me what the fuck is going on here? You doing this on purpose? Trying to look appropriate for the procedure or some shit?" he mumbled down at Eve. She looked up at him, pulled free from Charles' grasp and let out a long gasp of pain and panted, shaking her head. As he went through each stitch, Eve yelped and shook, but the new color of her fur and the abundant marks on her body remained. He finished stitching the wound closed, cleaned it with alcohol and then applied a field dressing to it.

He tossed everything back into his first aid kit and turned to see Charles helping her up into a sitting position. Her face and arms bore several small lines, and a large slash ran diagonally across her torso. She looked meekly down at the ground, dark stains beneath her eyes drawing branching paths through her fur. "Is this what you _actually_ look like?" asked Daniel.

The zoroark gave him a look brimming with shame and then turned away from him to look at Charles.

" **Explain yourself."**

The words made her wince, and Evelynn continued to stare at the ground, looking thoroughly miserable. She chanced a glance up at Charles and saw Daniel working to remove a bullet from his shoulder with pliers, a hammer and a chisel. The bisharp held the chisel steady for his trainer and the corner of his mouth twitched for the briefest of instants whenever Daniel tugged or delivered a blow.

The glance was too much, and Evelynn found herself staring directly into Charles' eyes now as her own began to burn. " **I was young and stupid."**

" **All are,** _ **once**_ **."** He gestured at her entire body and then added, " **Looks like more than once."**

Evelynn hung her head and let out a low sob. " **This** _ **is**_ **once."**

The hard stare Charles gave her softened and he sighed. " **All of it?"** Upon seeing her nod her head sadly and begin to cry in earnest, his shoulders slumped, earning a loud swear from Daniel as the chisel lost its leverage against the nick in his shoulder plating and went flying away. The bisharp winced as the bullet broke free, but the nagging pain in his shoulder dissipated almost immediately after.

"Fucking lucky the bullet went with it! The hell was that, Charles? You're normally good about first aid," grumbled Daniel, getting to his feet to go and seek out the chisel.

Charles grumbled his apology and pulled an adhesive patch of flexi-steel from the kit, then applied it over his wound. " **How did this happen?"** he asked, moving over to sit himself next to Evelynn. He reached over and lifted the zoroark's head to look her in the eyes.

" **Always the eyes, Charles,"** she mumbled between sobs. " **Why are you always so big about it?"**

" **Lies hide in the eyes,"** he said automatically. " **Lesson learned long ago. Was young and stupid."** He moved his hand towards Eve's shoulder and let it rest upon it. " **Explain."** A pause. " **Please."**

With a nod, Evelynn drew her mane of hair into her lap and pulled the gold ring she had threaded her hair through free. She held it aloft and stared at it with a faraway look in her eyes, then let out a long, steady breath.

" **It was supposed to be another job. Lead someone on and pick their pocket the second they drop their pants. Or snatch the purse. Sometimes you just need to knock someone out. Did that a few times."** She paused and pointed to herself. " **I was good at it. Studied magazines a whole lot to make sure everything looked good. Usually I just went with big up front and wide out back. It's amazing what fat tits will do."** She picked at the enormous scar across her chest with a rueful smile and closed her eyes as tears flowed from them. " **I was so good at it."**

" **This new mark, I don't think he's really digging the act. Seems a bit distant. But he's loaded. Really nice gold rings, necklaces, fancy watch, nice suit… I decided I'd tail him. Do some burglary instead of leading someone on. I follow him after last call and he heads into an apartment complex."** Evelynn paused and furrowed her brow. " **I never liked apartments. Dangerous places. Heard lots of horror stories. But I was confident."** She gave Charles a watery chuckle and then clutched at her side in pain. " **Or young and stupid."**

* * *

Evelynn landed heavily on the glass table and felt it explode into pieces. She groaned and looked blearily at the flashing claws flying down towards her and rolled out of the way. Tiny pricks of anger joined alongside the long and weeping wounds across her stomach, legs and arms. She panted, struggling to focus on the excadrill in front of her and his trainer standing nearby, a scowl on his face.

They were fighting in what was once a small apartment, and now resembled a warzone. Splinters of destroyed furniture littered the floor, a cracked television lay nearby and now hundreds of shards of broken glass peppered the ground. She coughed and dove forward, grimacing in pain as she rolled over a few shards of glass again, but thankful she dodged the excadrill's punch nonetheless. She saw his clawed paws collide with the wall and break through the drywall, and begin to struggle to pull them free. _Only chance I'll-_ She gagged as she felt hands clamp themselves around her neck and begin to tighten their grip.

"Just fucking die, you thieving shithead!"

The edges of her vision, already cloudy, began to darken, and with great difficulty she pulled one of the hands free, though the other shifted its positioning and continued to squeeze. With a snarl, she seized the wrist of the man and stuffed his hand into her mouth and bit as hard as she could. Soft little snaps rang in her mouth and she felt a gush of coppery warmth fill it.

The other hand let go immediately and its owner began to scream.

"You bit my fucking-"

Eve spat out the fingers and scrambled to her feet, then rushed towards the excadrill, a long and manic scream carrying in her throat. The mole finally tugged himself free from the wall and turned in time to see Eve bring tightly bunched, clawed fingers up into his stomach. With a bellow he threw his hands up and seized one of Eve's arms, slicing into it, but missed the other.

She ignored the burning in her arm and stabbed into the pokemon again, and again, and again. She felt his grip weaken and pushed him down onto the ground. Still screaming, she stabbed down into his chest, stomach - whatever that came up to stop her, she stabbed, and did not stop until nothing but ragged breaths came from his weakly stirring body.

Her arms and legs were trembling, and it was with enormous effort that she got to her feet and turned towards the man she'd only sought to rob. Her body bore huge gashes and dark patches of blood stained fur. She looked at the man with streaming, bloodshot eyes and morphed into the guise of a ragged looking human woman.

"I just…" she panted and doubled over for a moment before standing again and continuing to walk towards him. "I just wanted your rings. Just - just looking to… to make money." She stumbled and crawled her way towards the man as he scooted away from her until the wall behind him stopped him. "That's - that's… gods above, that's all I wanted. You looked good for it."

"I _earned_ this. All of this shit. You understand me? I EARNED THIS!" he screamed back in response. "Who the fuck do you think you are, huh? Something better than a thief? Ain't mean fuckin' nothing to me that you just want my shit. You hear me? You want my shit, come and _fuckin' take it._ "

Evelynn coughed and glanced at the fingers she'd spat out. One of them bore a heavy gold ring. "Didn't have to try and kill me to keep it safe you know…" She picked the bloody digit up, pulled the jewelry from it and looped a lock of hair through it to secure it. She got to her feet and turned towards the door. "Sorry about your fingers." She glanced at the excadrill and frowned. "And your excadrill."

She hadn't taken more than three steps towards the door when a blinding pain erupted in her right shoulder, sending her stumbling to the ground. The illusion melted away from her body and she reached back to find a knife embedded in her.

"Fuck-" began the man.

She turned about and launched herself at the man. Her body screamed in protest but she seized his legs nevertheless and pulled him away from the wall. The man flailed in an attempt to get her away but she seized his uninjured hand and bit his index finger off. As the man screamed in pain again and stared in bewilderment at his freshly bleeding hand, Evelynn grabbed the man's face and wrenched his head back.

" **Should have killed me,"** she growled, then dropped and bit into his throat. She worked her teeth down to the gums and then tore herself, and a chunk of his throat, away. Blood poured into her mouth and sprayed across her and the floor. She spat the lump of flesh out and staggered silently out of the apartment, determined to ignore the wet sputters and coughs hanging in the air.

* * *

" **I still don't remember how I made it back home. It's just - just one big blank spot in my memory,"** mumbled Evelynn to the ground. She dug her face into her hands and began to sob.

Charles frowned made to pat her back, then thought better of it as he considered her injury. He threw Daniel a glance, who had just returned bearing the missing chisel, and shrugged. His friend shrugged back, and gave him a look that told Charles he was on his own here.

" **Over now, no reason to cry,"** said Charles, patting her gently on the back.

At this Evelynn cried harder and turned to look at Charles, " **Over? Charles, I'm not you. Killing wasn't part of my job description."** She wiped her eyes and sniffled. " **It's** _ **still**_ **not. That night was just things spiraling out of my control, and it was…"** She shook her head and shrugged. " **I don't know. Something kept me alive that night. But I killed a man and his excadrill that night. There's no reason for them to be dead. But- but… I can't stand to see myself in the mirror like this. I can't stand to remember."** She broke down into tears again and hung her head.

Charles lifted her head and looked her in the eyes. " **Is a reason they are dead."** He tapped her chest. " **Tried to kill you. Good enough."**

With a shake of her head, the zoroark leaned forward and threw her arms around Charles **,** crying, " **It doesn't work like that. I'm not** _ **you.**_ **I don't kill people or pokemon. It's not what I do. It's never been what I do."**

" **Killing is not a habit of mine,"** replied Charles, his brow furrowed.

" **Don't sit there and lie Charles, please,"** begged Eve, holding herself at arms length away from the bisharp and looking at him in disbelief, " **You've done it way more. I know what you and Daniel got up to when you were still here. Even if you left to look for a better life, that doesn't mean the time you spent here just goes away. It's not that easy. It's never that easy."** She hung her head and hugged him again. " **I wish it was."**

" **Killed only threats,"** reasoned Charles, frowning. He hesitated and then added reluctantly, " **Once in Kalos. But in Unova, times were different. Life was. Tried to survive. Tried to help Daniel survive. Killed** _ **possible**_ **threats. Targets. Marks."** He shook his head. " **Best thought of in that way. Easier. Could tell Daniel felt the same."** He glanced at his friend for a moment, then turned back to Evelynn. " **Home again, still only killing threats. Uncertain about Daniel. Has… changed. Perhaps."**

Evelynn gave Charles a confused look. " **What? How?"**

Charles shook his head and turned away from the zoroark. " **Killed a-"** He stopped and shook his head more vigorously. " **Another time. Not relevant now. Know only that she had lost…"**

"Look, I'm sure you two have a lot of shit to continue to catch up on, but we're overstaying our welcome as is. Are you ready to move?" interjected Daniel, craning his head around at their surroundings, his gun raised. "Can you even move?" He gestured to Evelynn with his chin.

She morphed into a haggard looking version of her usual self and sniffled, "Yes. Hurts, but I can move."

"Didn't think to bring a tent with me to let you camp out on the edge of the reservation somewhere… At least then you'd be somewhere where you wouldn't worry about getting fucking shot again," mused Daniel.

Evelynn fired up at once, her eyes still streaming, but fierce. "I'm not here to be dead weight. I can still do exactly what I came along for."

The detective stared back at her for a moment, appearing to chew on his tongue before saying, "Alright, let's move out."

"You were going to say something."

Daniel shook his head. "I wasn't going to get an answer."


	6. Lapse

Though it took another fifteen minutes of driving, following the dried river proved fruitful. Down the hill and obscured somewhat by trees sat a building that Daniel could only guess was where Morrissey stayed while on his reserve. He killed the engine and hopped out of the jeep, his rifle at the ready and laid himself down in the tall grass.

"Charles, grab the pack in the back," he said quietly over his shoulder. To his right, he saw Evelynn seat herself gingerly upon the earth. She winced and let out a low whine that clashed with her human form. "Just hang in the jeep."

The disguised zoroark threw him an angry glare and then looked out towards the abode. "This the place?"

"Yeah. We're going to have to get closer to it without drawing too much attention." He gave Eve a hard look and then sighed. "Dunno how likely that is with you the way you are."

"I'm not fucking useless just because of a gunshot wound," she snarled. "I can still mask our presence if we stay low and move slow."

Daniel heard his pack quietly thump into the ground to his right and then saw Charles crawl into his view. His partner looked back at him once and gave him a short growl of affirmation before returning his gaze to the building in the distance. Daniel noted the number of bullet holes in his backpack and frowned. "Sopping fucking wet… I'll be lucky if fucking anything survived in this thing."

He pulled his binoculars out in two pieces and sighed before putting each to his eye in turn. "At least they both still work, hairline cracks aside." He handed one over to Evelynn and muttered, "Start recon then." He put the other half to his right eye and peered at their next destination.

"Minor tree cover, a few guards, no Morrissey in sight… Probably inside." He shifted his gaze to the building proper. "Can't make out too much. Looks like one floor, small garage. Big windows. Should be pretty easy to shoot into?"

Next to him, the zoroark grunted once and added, "Approaching should be easy enough. The trees make it hard for them to see us too." She paused and sighed. "And that's about all I can offer. I can't pretend like I have any real tactical knowledge here. I get the feeling walking up with a pair of fat tits hanging half out of my dress isn't going to do me any favors."

Charles growled something in response and held his hand out towards Evelynn. She handed him half the binoculars and replied morosely, "No, can't say I'm all that interested in dying looking like a whore." The bisharp glanced over the building and said nothing in response.

"Any ideas, Charles?" asked Daniel after a short silence.

His friend turned back and moved his hand slowly in the direction of their destination, then punched into his palm several times.

"Sneak in close and then drop the fuckin' hammer, huh?"

The bisharp nodded twice and growled something at Evelynn.

"I'm not going to stay invisible the whole time while you two fight, what's wrong with-"

Daniel cut across her. "Yes, you are. Unless you can pick up, aim and fire a gun accurately at these fucks, you are absolutely not getting your soft-ass already-shot-up body involved in this shit. Charles can take punishment, so he has an excuse to be on the frontlines."

Evelynn's hair shifted in tone to a brilliant red, which Daniel found set off the effect of her incredibly angry retort well enough. "Excuse me? You want me to just sit out and fucking watch you two almost die?" The illusions around her hands dissipated, revealing her clawed digits. "In case you forgot, I'm not exactly lacking in sharp things to stick into people."

"You've been shot. You don't have the strength to stab into these fucks without getting killed in the process. Besides, most of them probably have body armor designed to help ward off pokemon attacks."

"You mind telling me how you know that?" she shot back.

"It makes the most sense. Morrissey's fucking crazy but he's not retarded. He'd have men defending him dressed in the best," replied Daniel, his tone even. He frowned and scratched his face. "Gonna make an assault less than enjoyable though. Be careful Charles." He glanced at his partner, who nodded back. "If you find some easy picks, Eve, then fine. Don't hold back on my account. Just keep yourself alive and safe before anything else."

"I'm going to help whether you fucking like it or not. You're not exactly built like a fucking steelix either." She jabbed him in the chest for effect. "Something hits you anywhere but your vest and you'll be in just as bad a shape as I am."

With a sigh, Daniel began, "Yeah, but-" He stopped and shook his head. "Doesn't matter, wouldn't mean anything to you. I know what I'm doing. I know what I signed up for."

Evelynn let out a harsh growl and the illusion around her dissipated, leaving her scarred, discolored form lying next to Daniel, staring at him with ice blue eyes like daggers. She growled out something he could not understand, but the message was clear.

"Alright, since you're so certain, get ready. We're taking this house in five minutes."

* * *

Daniel rechecked his rifle and patted over his rig, his hands tapping magazines, straps and the plates in his vest. He took a deep breath and exhaled, long and low. "If Ana could see this, she'd kill me and then bring back my ghost to kill it again," he muttered.

He was crouched beside Evelynn and Charles behind a large shrub. They had managed to crawl up a few dozen meters to reduce the strain on Evelynn when she rendered them invisible.

"Can she do that?" asked Evelynn, incredulous.

Daniel smiled in spite of himself. "Well, I wouldn't exactly put something like that out of her grasp," he reasoned. "She's-" His face fell and he stopped. "When this is over, I'll explain."

"Here we go then," muttered Evelynn. She grabbed hold of Charles and Daniel's arms and scrunched her face. The three began to blur into their surroundings - but they did not become completely transparent. With significant strain in her voice, Evelynn muttered, "We have to move. We have to move, move now, please."

Charles growled in affirmation and began to lead them forward across the coverless expanse of grassland. Several times he nearly wrenched himself free from Evelynn's grasp, but the guard he seemed to be focusing on always continued on his patrol after gazing at the group for an uncomfortable amount of time. They reached the cover of the trees without incident and Evelynn immediately let go of their arms and collapsed forward into the grass. She suppressed a whine as her wound stung her and tried to pant as quietly as she could.

"That was-"

Daniel chopped his hand once through the air to quiet her and raised his rifle. "Get ready," he said in a barely audible whisper.

Charles peered around his own tree and then made a motion at Daniel that Evelynn had seen some humans do to certain guns.

"Can you take the pellets?" asked Daniel.

Charles nodded once and braced himself to sprint off.

"Pick off the one with the radio in his hands," mumbled Daniel to Evelynn. "He's got a blue hat on. I'll get anyone and everyone else. We break on three." He took aim at an unseen target and Evelynn felt her heart begin to race. "One…"

She turned to look at Charles and gaped at him.

"Two."

The words blended together. " **Pleasebecarefuldon'tdiepleasepleaseplease-"**

"THREE!"

The bisharp managed a single look at the zoroark before he tore off into to the open ground beyond the trees. The boom of Daniel's rifle filled the air and Evelynn's ears were ringing in an instant. She turned herself invisible and wobbled out of the treeline as best as she could, heading towards the radio operator as he dashed towards the house.

"FLICKER! I'LL FUCKING HIT YOU IF YOU DON'T FLICKER!" shouted a voice from the trees behind her.

Evelynn yelped in fear as she saw bodies around her dropping. She let herself become briefly visible before disappearing once again. All around her, some of the men firing back at Daniel were going prone, while others fell backwards, clutching at their stomachs or their necks. Hacks and coughs, groans and screams were in the air around her and the smell of blood began to creep into her senses.

To her left, she saw Charles roll out of the way of his target. The man fired off a gun with a boom so loud she swore she'd be deaf when this was over. She was relieved to see it do nothing but kick up dust in Charles' wake. The bisharp lunged at him and in a spray of blood the man fell one way and half of his leg, the other.

The man screamed and swung his gun through the air to aim at Charles, earning a terrified scream of " **WATCH OUT!"** from Evelynn, but the bisharp rolled out of the way a second time and put his fist deep enough into the man's face for it to disappear.

"GET THE RADI-" exploded out from behind Evelynn before it was cut off by several more booms of gunfire. Terrified, she made her way towards the home and found the sliding door had been left open. She stumbled inside and glanced around, still invisible. Her ears were ringing and the sounds of gunfire were hardly muffled inside. She strained to pick up any sounds of conversation around her and finally pinpointed something happening in a tiny adjacent room that held a chair and a small desk with a collection of radios.

"I don't know who it is! Someone with a crazy bisharp and a zoroark!" shouted the voice, clearly panicked. There was a pause. "What's so funny? Boss, what do we do?" Another pause. Evelynn crept towards the source of the noise and found the man huddled in a room looking at his radio in disbelief, a pistol clutched in his free hand. "Boss? Boss are you there?"

Evelynn put her back to the wall outside and took a deep breath to calm herself, then, with as much confidence as she could muster, said silkily, "He's left you here to die."

Several bangs rang out in the room and the drywall opposite the entry way exploded into several plumes of dust as each bullet struck.

"You come in this room and I'll fucking kill you, you little cunt."

The zoroark grinned in spite of herself. "Very scary threat. Wasting bullets on a wall really drives the whole thing home."

"I got more than enough for you and all your friends, just try me!"

Evelynn took another deep breath and faded away into invisibility once again. "If you insist." She focused her attention on the outside but heard no more gunfire. She ignored the bundle of fears that revelation slid into her stomach and readied herself. She tugged her hair free from the gold ring it was looped through and tossed it in front of the entryway with considerable force. Several more shots rang out. The moment they stopped she burst into the room and leapt atop the man, one hand seizing the arm clutching his pistol with her claws and digging them in as far as she could, while the other went for his throat.

Her clawed fingers did not find purchase on his throat, and she felt a searing pain explode in her wound as his free hand punched her firmly in the gut. She let out a yelp of pain and stumbled back. Through streaming eyes saw him scrambling for his pistol. Ignoring the protests in her likely freshly reopened wound, she dove towards him and managed to drive tightly bunched claws into his arm. The man screamed and fell away from his pistol, up against the wall of the room. He seized the offending arm and struggled to pull it free with one arm while the other groped at her face and did its best to drive his fingers into her eyes.

Evelynn felt herself fly back to that apartment so long ago. Her eyes flashed and she screamed, " **NO!"**

She wriggled her face from the man's hand and then bit down hard on it. Warm blood gushed into her mouth and for the most fleeting of moments the man looked exactly like the one back in that apartment. The man was screaming and the room around him began to blur and spin. She bit down harder, a low and guttural growl vibrating in her throat until she let go of his hand and let out a bestial roar.

The room around her opened up. The walls flew away from her and the lights went out. Her vision darkened, and all she could see was the terrified man beneath her. She could see herself atop him, watching him through the apartment window. She watched herself in the apartment atop him, snarling. She saw her head move automatically towards the man's neck. Her mouth opened wide and the man morphed in her vision. She was in the apartment now, there, above him. She bit down, the blood flowed and the man morphed back to the terrified individual in that tiny room alone with her.

Something pulled her forcefully off and she brought her arms up, her claws ready to dig into whoever it was she'd forgotten to find in this house, but instead she saw Charles. The room came into an abrupt, sharp focus and then the blinding pain in her back overtook her senses. She was back in the hallway. " **Charles?"** Her voice sounded small and hoarse. It seemed to come from somewhere far away from her own body, and it was soaked in meekness. The bisharp propped her up against the wall and produced a medical kit.

" **Daniel must change your bandages. Too much effort."** He paused and let out a low whistle. The expression on his face, the way he was looking at her - it made Evelynn uncomfortable.

" **What's wrong? Why are you looking at me like-"**

Charles shook his head and said aloud, " **She is here."**

Daniel appeared in the hallway. He was stained with blood and looking decidedly haggard. "Nice work, Charles." He walked past the two and looked into the room Evelynn had thought she was in. Daniel looked back at Evelynn with a similar expression. It was like the one Charles wore. He said nothing but instead looked back into the room and let out a low whistle eerily similar to Charles.

Evelynn looked around in confusion and transformed into her usual form with some difficulty. "What am I doing in the hallway?" she asked, clearly lost. "What happened? Is the fighting done?"

Daniel shouldered his rifle and nodded. "Yeah. Morrissey isn't here. He didn't even leave men with pokemon here to defend the building." He sniffed and patted his rig over. "Found a set of keys and a new jeep though." He looked back at Evelynn.

That look.

It was understanding. Fearful understanding.

"Wh-what? What are you looking at me like that for?" she asked, almost indignant. The smell of blood became overpowering all at once.

"You're... _almost_ as bad as that weavile. Thank the Dragons you're on our side," he said simply. He took the medkit from Charles and replaced Evelynn's dressings.

Charles grunted in affirmation. " **You do not revel. Good. Terrible thing to revel in."** He looked her in the eyes and brought his hand up to her face and turned it to one side and then the other, then back dead-on to face him. " **You do not even remember. Do you?"**

Eve gaped at him. "What are you-" Charles did not wait for her to finish and instead stood and offered her a hand to help her up after Daniel had finished re-dressing her wounds. She realized her hair was damp and sticky in patches. The smell of blood was all around her. She took Charles' hand and then let him lead her over to the room and looked inside.

With great difficulty Evelynn kept the bile down and turned away. "I-" She retched and turned away more. The smell was overpowering. "I didn't do that. No, I didn't do that."

"Charles cuts limbs clean off, Eve," said Daniel with morbid matter-of-factness. "What even happened?"

"I didn't do this, I couldn't have. I just stabbed him in the arms a bit and bit his hand, that was all, I didn't do this. I don't do this." She pointed at her chest. " _We_ don't do this. This isn't what our kind does, I-" She pulled away from Charles and looked at the two of them in turn. "You have to believe me, I didn't-"

She looked back into the room and felt the bile in her mouth and turned away again. "Oh… Please. No, I-"

" **Not a skilled fighter. No training. No restraint."** Charles turned her around. His face bore a tender expression. " **Is alright. Not your fault."**

She wrapped her arms around him and brought him close enough to wince when the blades in his stomach poked her. She did not weep, but instead simply stared, wide-eyed at the floor. Her disguise melted away. " **How?"** she said, finally.

" **Unsure,"** muttered Charles. " **Thought you would know."** A pause. " **Remember nothing at all?"**

There was another long pause from Evelynn before she said unsteadily, " **N-no. Sort...of? I got into a struggle with him and- the apartment, the window, biting down… And then I was in the hallway and you were there. It's this black spot in my head with blurry shapes moving around."** She swallowed and whispered, " **How did I do that?"**

She felt Charles shrug. " **Do not know. Perhaps instinct took over."**

" **Does that ever happen to you?"** she asked, hopeful.

" **Happened once. Long ago. Dire time. Daniel in danger. Saved him."**

Evelynn's face fell. " **And- and that was it?"**

" **Yes. Blades were fresh then. Memories aren't. Dulled around edges. Dark and foggy."** At this, her ears perked and the weight in her stomach lifted slightly.

"Eve." Her eyes snapped up to Daniel. "You dropped this. Lost this. Something, not sure, but I figured you'd hate to see it go." Daniel held out a gold ring towards the zoroark.

She reached out for it and took it from him and mumbled her thanks in a language she knew somewhere deep down he could not understand.

"You done doing your best Ana impersonation there with Charles?" he asked, his tone lighter. He pointed between the two of them.

She let go of the bisharp immediately and inclined her head, then morphed into her usual form. "Are we done here?"

"No. Gotta get cleaned up, get wounds dressed and find out where we're going next. And get all this fucking blood washed off - we stink. Found a shower and some soap to help get that shit scrubbed out before we move," he replied. "Got someone to deal with first though." He turned around and left without another word.

"Wait up," she called after him. She morphed back into a zoroark and gave Charles a long, searching look. " **Thanks."** She gave him a peck on the cheek and then went out after Daniel.

When she emerged from the building, her eyes went wide and she stopped mid-stride. She heard Charles stride up beside her and grumble, " **Problem?"**

There were bodies everywhere. Ten or twelve men littered the ground all around her, some in heaps clutching their stomachs, others flat on their backs, most of their heads missing. Still others had their hands clutching eternally at long stopped arteries in their throats. She looked about in horror and noticed several bodies in pieces, their arms or legs severed. One man looked like he'd crawled several feet towards the cover of the trees, two long trails of blood leading back to a pair of almost casually discarded legs.

" **How did you two do this?"** she asked in a whisper.

Charles grunted. " **Not about to vomit?"**

" _ **I**_ **didn't do this, and I'm not exactly unfamiliar with gore,"** she replied.

With a shrug, Charles responded, " **Seemed different back inside."**

" **Well** _ **I**_ **supposedly did that. And I'm not exactly what you'd call savage. Scratches and bites here and there, except for that time in the apart-"**

The bisharp cut her off with another grunt of understanding and added, " **Yes. You disliked your handiwork, made you ill. This violence is-"** He paused. " **Unusual. To you."**

" **Are you okay? I completely forgot to-"**

" **Am fine. Daniel, also fine."** He picked at a small dent in his shoulder and shrugged.

Evelynn opened her mouth to protest that a dent in his shoulder was hardly her idea of "fine" when she caught sight of Daniel kicking at something he was obscuring. She assumed her usual form and limped over to him. "What are you-"

A bound man laid before her and looked up at her with a look of terror in his eyes. "Who the fuck is this?" he shouted.

Daniel threw Evelynn a sideways glance and put a finger to his lips. "No one you have to worry about, shithead. Now fucking tell me, where the fuck did Morrissey go? I'm not above breaking your gods damned shins if I need to," he barked down at his captive. He aimed the pistol in his hands down at the man's legs for added effect.

"I don't know! D-drove off into the reserve to h-hunt Suicune! I swear!" he stammered back. "Just follow the tracks! The tracks will show you the way. I-It's only been a half-hour since he left. Th-they'll still be fresh!"

Daniel sighed. "What direction, asshole?"

"North! North by, uh, n-northwest? The road here leads out to where they were headed. I think. Please man, I don't know anything else," replied the captive, his eyes flitting between Eve and Daniel.

"What do you reckon, Eve? He telling the truth?" asked Daniel, rubbing his temples.

The disguised zoroark sniffed twice and mumbled, "He pissed himself. Probably. Does lying even get him anywhere?"

Daniel frowned. "It gives Morrissey time to kill Suicune, so I'd say, yeah."

"I don't think he's lying to you," she reasoned. "I don't think he's paid enough to be that loyal."

The detective stared at the gangster for a long while before his shoulders slumped. "Probably not." At that, he raised his pistol and shot him.

Evelynn recoiled and screamed. "What the fuck was that!?"

"What was what? Shooting him?" he asked, incredulous. "Taking out the trash, what else w-" He stopped at the sound of a loud growl coming from behind him.

Daniel turned around, holstering his pistol all the while and saw Charles glaring coldly at him.

"What?"

The bisharp took off at a dead sprint straight at Daniel and brought a gauntleted fist up, a long and angry shout filling the air all the while. It was too fast for Daniel, whose eyes went wide as the punch connected square in the center of his chest and sent him bowling over the corpse behind him.

Daniel scrambled to his feet in time to deflect a follow-up blow from Charles and then rolled aside. Charles kept up the pressure and let loose a spinning kick that Daniel blocked with two open palms before twisting into a back kick. It connected squarely with the bisharp's face, snapping it back and earning a shout of fear and protest from Evelynn.

"Stop! Stop, what the hell are you two doing?"

Daniel caught a counterpunch from Charles and swore loudly, letting go of the bisharp's fist almost immediately, but a sweep kick followed up that sent him toppling over. He hit the ground hard and rolled away and up into a defensive position in time to catch Charles' flying kick and send him spinning around once before throwing him away. The bisharp righted himself in midair and landed on all fours, then took off at a dead sprint towards Daniel again, snarling.

The detective caught the first punch with a shout of pain and the second with a more muffled one and leaned towards the bisharp, still clutching his fists with his hands in a white-knuckled grip. "Charles! What the FUCK are you doing?" he screamed, inches from his friend's face.

" **WE DO NOT MURDER,"** bellowed Charles back.

Evelynn looked between the two hopelessly. "Please, both of you stop this," she begged.

"I don't know what the fuck it is you just said Charles, but you need to fucking _cool_ it, you hear me!?" shouted Daniel. "Stand the FUCK down."

"Both of you, please, stop! Stop!" shouted Eve, cutting between the two. She pushed against Charles' chest and got him to back up several paces with incredible difficulty. "What the hell are you doing?"

" **Have killed many with Daniel. For Daniel. Do not** _ **murder**_ **for him,"** spat the bisharp. " **Expect the same."** He pointed past Evelynn at Daniel. " **We do not murder."**

Evelynn let go of Charles and stepped away from between the two with great trepidation. "No more trying to kill each other, yeah? Please?"

"I'm not trying to kill anyone but Morrissey and his fucking men," snarled Daniel. "Don't know what the fuck's gotten into him." He pointed at the bisharp and shook his head before glancing at Evelynn. "Haven't gone and made him soft on me now, have you?"

"Soft? I don't think refusing to kill defenseless people is _soft_ , Daniel!" shot back Eve, disgusted and alarmed. "What the hell did you shoot him for?"

" **Thought the weavile was unique. But the man in that building. And now this captive,"** growled Charles. " **A Daniel from when these blades were young."**

Daniel looked at Charles, clearly confused. "What the hell is he even saying? I'm usually good at sussing this stuff out, but I'm-"

"He's saying that you've changed. Something about a weavile, that guy back in Morrissey's tower, and now this cap-" began Evelynn.

"What the fuck? Charles, are you still fucking hung up on that weavile? She helped kill Ricard, don't you remember?" said Daniel in a constricted and confused voice. "She… she killed a ton of people, man. You weren't _interested_ in her, were you?"

" **Had lost. Wouldn't surrender, but hardly mattered. She lost,"** grumbled Charles, lowering his gaze and shaking his head. " **Back in the tower. Man had lost. Here. Just now. Man had lost."** He drove a fist into an open palm. " **Allow withdrawal. Always allow withdrawal."**

Evelynn chewed over what Charles said before turning to Daniel and opening her mouth. He cut across her, saying, "I get the feeling that, no, he wasn't interested in her."

"No. He wasn't. But there's a lot more to it than that," said Eve. "He's saying you should let people surrender. Like back in the tower-"

"He pulled a fucking knife on me, did you forget?" interjected Daniel angrily.

"Well, yes, he did, but did you have to throw him out of a window from that high up?" asked Eve, recoiling. "Did you need to shoot this guy after he told you everything? We could have called for someone to pick him up, or left him here and then dumped him at a police station or something." She paused. "Charles is right, these people have lost. We should let them retreat."

With an angry sigh, Daniel shook his head and looked at Charles. "Look, over the top or not, we aren't dealing with people that show us this kind of fuckin' courtesy. You get that? These fucks aren't in the business of showing mercy. It's them or us. That's how Morrissey and his men work."

"So what?" replied Eve, firing up, "Are _you_ Morrissey and his men, or are you yourself?"

" **They wish it, we fight. We do not slaughter,"** replied Charles, stepping towards Daniel and crossing his arms. " **Will not murder for you."**

Daniel looked from Charles to Evelynn and then back. "We're about to go find Morrissey and his men. They have no gods damned interest in being soft with us. If they shoot, I shoot back. Any one of them does anything that even looks like they're gonna pull something and I'm putting them six feet under. Do you fucking understand that?" He shook his head and stomped his foot, then turned away from them. "I left a shit fucking life behind back when I ran with this, I'm not fucking interested in running right back into it. But I want this fucker dead more than anything, and if I have to get my fucking hands dirty then I'm going to stick them elbow deep in the shit, do you understand me?" He turned and stared back at Charles.

" **No murder,"** replied Charles harshly. " **None."**

"Daniel, I don't know if he's fully on board," said Eve. "He's pretty hell bent on stopping this murder spree."

"Murder spree!? We've been killing the lowest of the fucking low in Unova. They're Morissey's fucking gang, is that so fucking hard to understand?" he shouted in anger at the bisharp.

" **Threats are fair,"** replied Charles coolly, " **but only threats."**

"Fuck this gods damned language barrier," groaned Daniel, gesturing angrily. "What the fuck did he say? I'm too fucking angry to parse this shit now."

"He's saying that he'll only kill threats," explained Evelynn, turning to look at Charles. The bisharp nodded. "And that you should do the same." He nodded again.

"They're _all_ threats!" yelled Daniel. "What do you mean _only_ threats? Hasn't been a single poor bastard we've put down that _hasn't_ been a fucking threat!"

" **Not all threats remain so,"** said Charles.

"Charles is right," added Eve, "They didn't all remain threats the entire time-"

Daniel turned away from the two and groaned. "I can't believe I'm arguing about morality with a bisharp and a zoroark. This feels like shit that Johannes would do. If he wasn't busy fucking them." He turned back and faced them. "Listen to me. Both of you." He glanced at Eve before settling his gaze on Charles. "Morrissey is bad shit. Fucker's gone nuts is the word on the street. I saw enough of him first hand to know that I believe it. What I've done to his men is hardly out of line with what any fuck with a gun and a badge on his chest would do. You put these bastards down. Set them free and they'll just breed like gods damned vermin."

" **We kill threats,"** repeated Charles.

"He said we should only kill threats," supplied Eve.

With an aggravated sigh, Daniel began to pace. "Charles, you've seen the shit this guy had us do back then. You saw what his men would do. Shit, you saw what they _did_ do. We pulled Ana out of shit so deep I couldn't see the sky anymore, and we climbed out of that shitheap using bodies for rungs on that ladder." He gave the bisharp a hard stare, but behind the anger was a plea. "Please, you should know better than anyone that I'm not doing this because I enjoy this shit. I'm gonna spend way more time than I probably should chasing some kind of fuckin' absolution, especially after being part of the reason Ricard went down. And now I've got this shit here with you saying me putting these fucks in the ground is bad?"

"It's not that it's bad, Daniel," said Eve, "you're not looking at this the right way. Charles isn't above killing." She paused and frowned. "That sounds so awful to say aloud. He's- he's above murder. And you should be too. Don't kill people that have given up."

"What keeps someone who gave up from deciding now's the time to stick a knife in my back?" shot Daniel.

"Then fight with a knife in your back - are you a good person or not?" asked Eve, frustrated.

The detective went silent and looked away.

The silence that ensued was pronounced. Evelynn looked about, surveying the carnage around her. An odd place to ask a question where the answer seemed so clear. After a few minutes, she pressed him, "Well?"

"I don't know Evelynn." He looked away from her at Charles instead. "I like to say I'm a good person, you know. Or trying to be one. I _say_ I put the bad shit behind me. Maybe I haven't. Maybe I needed a good punch in the chest to remember what I was trying to do after Morrissey. But coming back home-" He trailed off and shook his head. "Shit's fucked, and I guess maybe I'm to blame for it. Wouldn't be the first time." He strode up to Charles and held out his hand. "Listen, you get me killed 'cos I went soft on some of his greener guys, I'll haunt Ana until she figures out a way to make me haunt you forever instead."

Charles stared back and frowned, then finally uncrossed his arms and took his partner's hand in his own and shook it. Daniel suddenly pulled him closer and added in a whisper, "But let me get one thing crystal. Just one, Charles." The bisharp stared back, unblinking. "I'm putting Morrissey in the fucking ground even if he surrenders. He has it coming. You know what he's done just as well as I have. We clear?"

There was a short silence before Charles looked Daniel in the eyes and nodded. " **Earned that long ago,"** he said simply.

"He said that-" began Eve.

"No, you don't gotta tell me. I know what he said that time," said Daniel, cutting in. He let go of Charles' hand and rolled his neck. "Let's get washed up. We had to be out of here yesterday."


End file.
